Japan, Saitama. Distillery operational. Owner: Venture Whisky.

Independent & family-ownedIt was in 2007 that Ichiro Akuto, grandson of the founder of the Hanyu distillery, built a new distillery in the north-west of Tokyo, in Saitama Prefecture. Named Chichibu after the city where its located, it brought to a close several decades marked by the closure of numerous production sites, and enabled Ichiro Akuto to renew his family's history of expertise. Despite its small size (production capacity of 80,000 LPA/yr), Chichibu quickly drew attention and became highly sought-after. It was under the name “New Born” that Ichiro sold exclusively his malt for three years. In 2011, the first edition of a small batch Chichibu named The First was released (7,400 bottles). It was immediately welcomed by distributors and the world's whisky enthusiasts, putting Chichibu on the fast-track to becoming a distillery with strong potential as a collectible. Since then, Ichiro has released numerous single casks to respond to consumer demand, increasing the distillery's appeal among collectors. And its next goal? To produce a whisky whose origins is completely Japanese, using local malt and peat.

A Chichibu Paris Edition 2020, blended from five casks distilled in 2013—one first-fill bourbon (peated), three virgin oaks and one port pipe—and three casks distilled in 2014—two Chibidarus and one red wine cask. Every year since 2018, to mark Whisky Live, La Maison du Whisky has released an exclusive blend of Chichibu with a label that pays tribute to Paris. This edition pays tribute to the Luxor Obelisks, which were gifted by Muhammad Ali Pasha, the ruler of Ottoman Egypt, to Charles X in 1830. They were installed in 1836 in the centre of Place de la Concorde. A limited edition of 1,833 bottles for La Maison du Whisky.