Chichibu whisky distillery
The Chichibu Distillery founded in 2004 by Ichiro’s Malt is Japans newest distillery and the first to be founded in 31 years. Production began in 2008 under the watchful eye of Ichiro Akuto the distillery owner, manager and Master Distiller who is also the grandson of the founder of the now-closed Hanyu distillery. The current annual production of 60 000 liters is distilled in a pair of small 2,000 litre capacity copper pot stills, manufactured by Forsyths of Elgin, Scotland. While the majority of distilleries seperate peated and non-peated production the Chichibu distillery produces one months worth of malt peated to 50 ppm each year just before the distillery’s annual maintenance.
Chichibu factsheet
| Name | Pronounced | AKA | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chichibu | chee*chee*boo | Saitama | |
| Country of Origin | Status | Active | Whisky Type |
| Japan | Active | 2008 - Present | Malt |
| Website | Tours Available | Owned by | Parent Group |
| Chichibu | Not Available | Ichiro Akuto |
Chichibu Timeline:
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- 2004Ichiro Akuto establishes Venture Whisky, creating the company that will commercialize Hanyu stock and later build Chichibu.
- 2008Chichibu distillery opens and quickly becomes the symbolic start of a new era in Japanese whisky.
- 2012After veteran cooper Mizuo Saito decides to retire, Chichibu acquires machinery and builds its own cooperage around it.
- 2017Fourth warehouse built; first batch of locally malted barley distilled.
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Can I tour Chichibu?
No, unfortunately Chichibu distillery is not open to the public for tours