Ichiros Malt & Grain – World Blended Whisky Lim. Ed.

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 48% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This limited edition brings together whiskies from five countries in a world blend. Venture Whisky blends Scotch from Scotland, Irish whiskey, Canadian rye and American bourbon with Japanese Chichibu Single Malt. The imported components are selected in Chichibu, matured further and combined with the distillery's own malt. The blend is therefore created in Japan, although not all of its constituent whiskies were distilled there.

The Limited Edition draws on older stocks: all the whiskies it contains are at least ten years old, with many of the international components aged between twenty and forty years. Fruit, dessert sweetness and cereal notes contrast with a woody, slightly astringent finish, while malty richness lingers with warm spice. The whisky is bottled at 48%, without added colouring or chill filtration. The 0.7-litre bottle comes in gift packaging.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose combines fruity impressions with pudding, crème brûlée and oak. Apple pie, sweet corn, honey and white pepper add further notes.
• Palate: On the palate, honey, biscuit notes, dried fruit and cereal sweetness combine with toffee, vanilla and caramel.
• Finish: Woody notes and a slightly drying astringency remain on the finish. Lingering malty richness develops into warm spice notes.

Distillery/Bottler:

Ichiro Akuto is the person behind Venture Whisky and the Chichibu Distillery in Saitama. His grandfather ran the Hanyu Distillery; after its closure, Akuto preserved the remaining whisky stocks and used them for releases including the Playing Card Series, which later became famous. With Chichibu, he established his own site for producing and maturing single malt.

Chichibu has its own cooperage and floor-malting facility. The distillery uses Japanese Mizunara oak vessels for fermentation. During distillation, the team determines the cuts between heads, hearts and tails by smell and taste rather than relying solely on fixed timings. Alongside its own single malt, Venture Whisky's work includes selecting, further maturing and blending international whiskies.

Facts: