Ichiro's Malt Double Distilleries Blended Malt Japanese Whisky 700ml | 46.5% ABV

Double Distilleries connects two generations of the Akuto family's whisky story. Malt distilled at Chichibu is blended with mature malt from the closed Hanyu Distillery, founded by Ichiro Akuto's grandfather. The result is a blended malt Japanese whisky, not a Chichibu single malt.

Chichibu itself is a relatively young distillery: Ichiro Akuto founded Venture Whisky Ltd. in 2004, four years before Chichibu began production in 2008, following the closure of the family's earlier Hanyu operation. The distillery has become known for hands-on techniques most producers abandoned decades ago, including floor malting and direct-fired stills, alongside investment in local barley cultivation.

Chichibu provides this blend's modern core, while the remaining Hanyu whisky adds mature fruit, oak and historical depth. The component malts were matured across ex-bourbon casks, hogsheads, puncheons and mizunara oak before blending. It carries no age statement and is bottled at 46.5% ABV.

The profile begins with red apple, fig, honeysuckle, milk chocolate and rounded oak. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, honeyed malt and biscuit follow on the palate, with bittersweet oak, mint, liquorice and ginger through the finish.

Double Distilleries is particularly relevant for drinkers interested in the relationship between Hanyu and Chichibu. It offers a direct link between the family's former distillery and the modern Venture Whisky operation without presenting the bottle as a single-distillery release.

The 46.5% bottling strength keeps the whisky's fruit and spice clear while giving the mature malt and mixed oak enough weight. It works well in a comparative tasting beside the other Leaf Series releases, where its Hanyu connection and broader cask mix become easier to identify.