JAPAN’S NEW WAVE INSTIGATOR
When it began producing in 2008, this craft whisky-making operation was the first Japanese whisky distillery to open since 1973. And within a few years, Ichiro Akuto’s hands-on and limited-production approach revolutionised how the world views Japanese whisky.
For many whisky enthusiasts, Chichibu needs no introduction – it's a bit of a cult Japanese distillery. But our boss, and your navigator, Sukhinder Singh is not interested in fashion or reputation when selecting liquids for The Elixir Trails – outstanding flavour is all that matters. On the other hand, he says, when a reputation is earned and the specific casks live up to that status, it would be crazy to dismiss a distillery such as Chichibu just because it’s a cult distillery – there's a reason connoisseurs love this stuff!
When Chichibu began production in 2008, it was the first new Japanese distillery in 35 years. It basically kicked off the new wave of Japanese whisky – not just because it was novel, but because the founder, Ichiro Akuto, deliberately set out to make unusual (even challenging!) whiskies instead of the easy-to-drink ones that used to dominate Japanese whisky. Ichiro completely shook up expectations of Japanese whisky internationally and – more tellingly – has influenced the way the bigger producers in Japan are prepared to push boundaries now.
Those bigger producers are giants compared to Chichibu, even now after all its success and some expansion. It still only produces 90,000 litres a year – about 1.5% of the output of a single malt distillery owned by one of the big guys. The demand is there for them to produce a lot more, but they resist that because this is craft whisky-making with a very hands-on approach.
This rarity, by the way, means that it takes the sort of contacts and trust that Elixir and Sukhinder have built up to acquire any Chichibu for an independent bottling.
Ichiro is notoriously meticulous at every stage of his drive towards quality – some have even called him a control freak (something Sukhinder says he can sympathise with!). He is experimenting with using locally grown barley but, even when they import it, the supervision of the malting process is hawk-eyed. They have a cooperage on-site so that the casks are exactly prepared for the purpose.
Every step along the journey is meticulously planned and a concept is followed through from beginning to end. For example, ageing in an ex-IPA cask isn’t a matter of finishing it in a beer barrel to swirl in some hoppy notes at the end of its life; it would spend the majority of its ageing in a specially ordered craft beer cask. It might take on the fragrant notes of the hops but it will never lose Chichibu’s fruity new-make character (especially the signature overripe banana note).