Founded by Ichiro Akuto, the grandson of the founder of the Hanyu distillery, Chichibu has been in operation since 2008. It is not only the first Japanese single malt distillery since Hakushu but also one of the most praised by enthusiasts. The Ichiro’s Malt brand was created in 2005 and rose to fame after bottling the last casks of Hanyu, most notably the highly sought-after Cards bottlings. Today it offers a wide variety of whiskies. The distillery is home to the last casks of Karuizawa, Kawasaki and Hanyu.

Blended by Chichibu’’s founder Ichiro Akuto, this blend is composed of Hanyu 27 Year Old - from the distillery owned by Ichiro Akuto’’s grandfather which closed in 2000, a Kawasaki 35 Year Old sherry cask - from a grain distillery which has also closed, and Chichibu 5 Year Old. Two closed distilleries and a young distillery which continues to see growing success, bringing together the past and present of Japanese whisky in a single bottle. Limited to 500 bottles, this blend was named Best Japanese Blended Limited Release at the World Whisky Awards in 2019.