The stamp rally has been a popular activity in Japan, with participants collecting a stamp card and typically making purchases at various establishments to collect a series of stamps which then entitles anyone who completes the stamp card to a collectible item.

Japanese bottler Whisky Mew, headed by Hideo Yamaoka, a notable whisky and manga aficionado, popular for his manga-labelled independently bottled whiskies, has previously run several stamp rallies for highly collectible Chichibu whiskies. This is part of the Chichibu Stamp Rally Project which started in 2020 in a bid to encourage bar goers to patronise local bars during the extremely tough Covid situation.

Now in its third iteration, Whisky Mew and Stefan van Eycken has once again collaborated to bottle the #21 Ghost Series whisky - an ex-Beer cask 9 Year Old Chichibu Japanese single malt whisky that will be the prize for the latest bar stamp rally.

| Read: First Impressions From An Early Arriver To Japan's Whisky New Era: Stefan van Eycken Takes Us Ghostbusting

The latest run of the Chichibu Stamp Rally Project will start on Saturday, 19th August 2023, and will include 21 bars from across Chichibu, Saitama (outside Chichibu) and Tokyo. 

The new Chichibu was distilled in 2014, aged in ex-Bourbon barrels, and then double matured in beers barrels previously holding a fruited beer known as "Strong Double Apple Saison" for an additional 3 years. It was bottled at 61% ABV, with a total of 228 bottles (and only 142 bottles designated for Stamp Rally lottery winners).

Hideo Yamaoka (left) and Stefan van Eycken (right) sampling some Chichibu whiskies.

As with each edition of the famous Ghost Series, this bottle carries a print from Japan's last ukiyo-e woodblock print master, Yoshitoshi, and in specific from his final collection titled "New Forms of Thirty-six Ghosts". The #21 release carries the print "Ino Hayata Killing A Nue At The Imperial Palace".

"This story comes from the historical saga 'Tale of the Heike' (Heike monogatari), specifically book 4, section 15 ‘The Nightbird. In the story, the nue was described as a supernatural creature with the head of monkey, the body of a badger, limbs of a tiger, the tail of a snake and the cry of a thrush.

The image depicts Ino Hayata, the assistant to the warrior Minamoto Yorimasa, battling a nue. The pair had been called to help Emperor Konoe, who was tormented by a black cloud that settled over him each night, causing him to suffer from nightmarish visions. When Yorimasa heard strange sounds, he shot an arrow into the cloud, hitting a nue. Ino Hayata then slayed the fantastic beast."

Pick up the latest copy of Stefan's Whisky Rising that's out now - refreshed, updated and packed with more!

Separately, Stefan van Eycken has also recently released in 2023 an updated copy of his highly popular guide to Japanese whiskies, Whisky Rising - the most comprehensive and fascinating (and the only which draws on him having personally visited every single distillery covered). This is an absolute must have for anyone looking to learn about Japanese whiskies. Now available on Amazon here.

Background 

The Ghost Series started out as a project by Stefan van Eycken to bottle some interesting and rare Japanese whiskies for fans of his blog Nonjatta (which anyone interested in Japanese whiskies should know of by now, or if you haven't should definitely check out). Along the way, it has seen some incredible bottlings that have included Karuizawa's mythical "rouge casks" from the one single year that parent, Mercian, aged Karuizawa's whiskies in wine casks, to peated Hanyu and Chichibu whiskies, and as of late has focused more on Eigashima Distillery's Akashi whiskies, featuring very unusual ex-Sake American Oak casks and Cabernet Franc casks.

Yoshitoshi's last master works titled "New Forms of Thirty-six Ghosts". (Image Source: The Value)

The series is also distinctive in its labelling, with each label featuring a print of Japan's last woodblock print Master, Yoshitoshi's, final series of works titled "New Forms of Thirty-six Ghosts". It is said that the woodblock print selected for that specific bottle's label draws some resonance with the whisky that is being bottled.

Images courtesy of Whisky Mew.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team