A single-cask Ichiro's Malt & Grain drawn from cask #12133 and bottled for the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo. It is Ichiro Akuto's world blend given a final spell in a wine cask at Chichibu.
About This Whisky
Malt & Grain is Venture Whisky's world blend. It combines Ichiro's own Japanese malt with whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, the United States and Canada, which are aged in their home countries and then married and matured further at Chichibu before bottling. For the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, a batch of the blend was filled into a single wine cask, numbered 12133, and bottled at the end of the finishing period as a private hotel release. The wine cask adds red-fruit tannin and a drier edge to the usual honey and vanilla of Malt & Grain.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Honey, vanilla and orange peel, with a lick of mint and blackcurrant.
- Palate: Rich and firm, with toffee, red berries and black tea tannin over a soft grain base.
- Finish: Medium-long, with cassis, oak spice and a gentle drying finish.
Serving & Food
Try it neat first at room temperature in a tulip glass, then add a small splash of water, which brings out the fruit. It pairs well with duck breast with plum sauce, a cheese board with Comté, or dark chocolate truffles.
How to Enjoy
Ichiro's Malt followers and anyone who enjoys a wine-finished blend with a clear hotel provenance.
Product Details
Producer: Venture Whisky, Chichibu
Style: World blended whisky, single cask
Bottled for: Mandarin Oriental Tokyo
Release/year: 2021
Cask: #12133, wine cask
Country: Japan
Bottle size: 700mL
About the Distillery
Ichiro Akuto calls Malt & Grain an all-world whisky. Instead of limiting a blend to Japanese stock, he pairs his own malt with whiskies from the other major producing countries and lets them settle together in Saitama, which gives him far more to work with than a young distillery could supply alone.
Chichibu itself opened in 2008 about 100 km north-west of Tokyo, holding the first new whisky licence granted in Japan in 35 years. The original distillery is small, with two pot stills, and much of its output goes into single casks and blends like this one.