One of the most difficult things to do is to make an estimation about where you'll be in the future - on the one hand, you hope for the best and that sometimes means going all out, yet on the other, you've also got to pragmatic and make the most of what you've got at the moment. It's a matter of trading off some idealism to make your dream a reality; anyone with some life experience can surely attest to that. This would be even more difficult when you're making a guess for the first time ever, which would also mean that it's simply impossible to take every factor into consideration.

Yet you roll with it, and sometimes, in a stroke of serendipity, you get another shot to make that decision all over again - this time, you're much more experienced, and having gone through everything the first round, you've surely already got plenty of ideas about what you'd ought to do this second time.

You already know him, it's Ichiro Akuto!

That's probably what was going through the mind of Chichibu Distillery's Ichiro Akuto as he laid down plans for Chichibu Distillery II - at least, that's what I'd imagine it to be (at least until he corrects me!).

It's no secret that Japan's cult whisky maker Ichiro Akuto hadn't started out thinking he would ever make whisky - after 21 generations of making Sakes, going all the way back to 1625, with his grandfather, Isouji Akuto, then turning the family's business towards whiskymaking, Ichiro had instead opted to work sales for one Japan's most famous drinks companies. It wasn't until the family's Hanyu Distillery had began to falter that Ichiro would in a mark of filial piety quit his job and return to help out. 

Nevertheless the 80's and 90's was an incredibly trying time for Japanese whiskies, and despite their best efforts, the distillery would close its doors in 2000. As devout Japanese fans would be familiar with, this was in fact the start of what would become Chichibu Distillery.

Ichiro-san would go on to salvage his grandfather's Hanyu whiskies in what has become one of the most sought after collections, the Hanyu Cards series.

In an effort to salvage the remaining whisky stocks from the Hanyu Distillery, which was marked to be dumped by the company that had since acquired the distillery, Ichiro had found it incredibly heartbreaking to see his family's work be tossed and would thus enlist the help of a fellow Japanese distillery who would agree to buy him some time as he snuck as many Hanyu casks as he could to the Sasanokawa Shuzo premises (today better known for their Yamazakura and Asaka whiskies). Ichiro would labour for several years before he was able to finally amass enough resources in order to establish his own Chichibu Distillery in 2008. The rest is as they say history, with Chichibu Distillery not just making some incredible whiskies in the past almost two decades, but perhaps more importantly (for the whisky community at least!) would serve as a burning flame of passion and inspiration for would-be craft distillers around the world, showing them that regardless of size or even if they were from a country that had no prior history of whiskymaking, that they too could make internationally acclaimed whiskies! 

Now that all is to point out that as highly regarded as Ichiro Akuto and the Chichibu Distillery is today, having bravely forged their own path as a bonafide trailblazer, the reality is that in the early 2000's before Japanese whiskies had taken of, the success of Chichibu Distillery was anything but certain. Today, with numerous new wave producers in Japan and around the world already well into their first decade of whiskymaking, it is often remarked with much positive surprise as to how good the quality of their whiskies already are - a testament to Chichibu Distillery's pioneering work which laid the foundation from which many craft producers have been able to learn from and work off on (with many even having apprenticed at Chichibu Distillery!). 

Chichibu Distillery (the First).

And so it's worth paying consideration to the context in which Chichibu Distillery was being conceived in 2004 - that Japanese whiskies had yet to really take off, and that the distillery was built with a scrappy budget, with then also little experience in putting it together. Regardless, through sheer effort, it obviously all worked out and so in 2019, just over Chichibu's 10th year anniversary, Ichiro-san was now presented with a renewed opportunity in building Chichibu's second distillery - so named, Chichibu Distillery II. 

“To be honest, yes we’ve made it this far, but the hard part is just beginning,.. We wanted to go back to the roots of whisky making. Since our first distillery was staffed by only two or three people, an emphasis on efficiency led us to choose steam-based indirect heating. But at the beginning, whisky making used direct fire distillation. With our second distillery, we wanted pay homage to that tradition. When in doubt, go back to where it all began.” said Ichiro-san in an interview with Whisky Galore, as translated by Whiskey Richard of Nomunication.

Ichiro-san at Chichibu Distillery II.

Located just a short walk (and an even shorter drive) away from the first Chichibu Distillery, Chichibu Distillery II (or Chichibu Distillery #2) is located in the Midorigaoka Industrial Park in of course, Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture. 

Rethinking operational efficiency with a greater inclusion of traditional methods, as well as the desire to produce a different style of whisky that will most certainly play a big role in Chichibu's blends moving forward (as will the grain whiskymaking Tomakomai Distillery in Hokkaido, slated to start its first distillation run in January 2026), Chichibu II is from the outset fundamentally built different with the use of French oak washbacks (from Taransaud, who also produces Chichibu's unique egg-shaped cask) and direct-fired distillation stills (versus Mizunara washbacks and steam based indirect heating in Chichibu #1). Ichiro has even explained that the use of French oak washbacks was so as to ensure that only the hardier lactic acid bacteria that's resistant to tannins will remain in the French oak! Chichibu #2 was also designed to be able to handle 5 times the amount of malt for each batch, with the mash tun this time semi-lauter with even a sight glass on the side for better quality control. Both the wash still and spirit stills in the second distillery are still Forsyths made, with both fitted out with straight heads, and again sized up volume capacities. 

Altogether, it is said that the first distillery will take the role of being more artisanal and experimental, whilst the second distillery is more so geared towards offering the market a stable supply of Chichibu whisky. Thus far Chichibu Distillery II is about 6 years in and it's finally ready for its debut single malt - that means whiskies solely from Chichibu Distillery II, without any addition from the first Chichibu Distillery! 

Scenes of expansion. Left: Assembling French oak washbacks with Taransaud; Top Right: Coffey Still at Tomakomai; Bottom Right: Fields of local barley; Chichibu's coopers have even begun using locally Chichibu grown Mizunara for casks!

As one last bit of reflection before we get right into the review of the Chichibu Distillery II single malt, I can't help but personally feel deeply impressed by this expansion from Chichibu - going back to where the distillery was at in just the early 2000's, it's now come so far as to begin echoing the same two-malt distillery structures that Japan's three most renowned and historic (and also largest) whiskymakers enjoy - and so for now, like its counterparts, Chichibu too will have two distilleries making different styles of malt whiskies to support its ultimate blending ambitions; and soon enough Chichibu will count three distilleries to that end, with its grain distillery Tomakomai certainly also playing a huge role in the future, but that's a topic for another time!

With that all said, let's get into it!

PS. This of course made its grand debut in Singapore at the one and only Whisky Live Singapore, that's organised annually by La Maison du Whisky (LMDW) that brings together some of the most cult-ed releases each year! The Chichibu Distillery II single malt should be available through LMDW soon enough!

Whisky Review: Chichibu Distillery II Single Malt Japanese Whisky, 55.5% ABV

Aged for 4 to 5 years in a variety of casks, although said to be predominantly ex-Bourbon.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: Immediately honeyed with a nice punchiness that's really lively, backed by more on vanilla, with a crack of black pepper and a serving of green apples and pears. It's rounded and broad even on the nose, muscular yet rich and supple. More nutty gristiness and buttery maltiness wafts about, with some rustic hay as well. It's got great depth and with time more apples begin to emerge, with also bouquets of white florals and apple blossoms.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, rich and really firm and compact, with again that lively punchiness coming through. Honey, vanilla cream, green apples, with also a veil of smokiness that combines to give smoked cream and grilled apples. Tones of exotic heather wafts through the body, with black tea that comes through at the back, bringing with it a light bitterness of long steeped pu'er tea.

Finish: That lovely smoked cream and honey, along with the grilled apples persists through the finish, contrasted nicely against a slight bitterness of angelica roots. That earthy medicinal root bitterness lingers firmly through the finish balancing really well against the body of richness for a clean and lively finish.

My Thoughts

Thoroughly impressive! It actually strikes me as being a fair bit older than is stated, with not much hinting at its youth. It's also got great intensity and liveliness, with a really enjoyable presence, the aromas and flavour profile still somehow being unmistakably Chichibu, with the honey, vanilla cream, hay, black pepper and orchard fruits, yet this time expressed with some smokiness that perfectly marries those flavours to give another layer of smoked cream and grilled fruits! It shows great richness and depth, with the aromas layered and the body really compact and cohesive, finishing off with a contrasting touch of pu'er tea and medicinal root bitterness that strikes the perfect tone without going over the top and yet sufficient to hold its own against the richness of the body. This is then wrapped around by a lovely rustic purity of hay, grist and heather which immediately brings you to the countryside.

Superb liveliness, vibrance and so, so energetic! It's immediately clear the impact of the changes made at the second distillery as compared to the first, where you get this much more robust body and also a more restrained lactic quality. An incredibly laudable first official release from Chichibu II, that I must concede works even better for me than Chichibu The First.