Ichiro's Malt Chichibu On The Way Floor Malted 2024
Limited edition single malt Japanese whisky produced by Chichibu Distillery in Saitama, Japan • Distilled from 100% unpeated malted barley, floor malted at Chichibu Distillery • Fermented 100 hours in Mizunara oak washbacks • Double distilled in Forsyths copper pot stills • Aged 7–15 years in a combination of ex–bourbon casks, chibidaru (modified hogshead with a capacity of approximately 40-gallons), hogsheads with Mizunara oak heads, puncheons, and wine casks; non-age statement • Rich notes of rustic barley, bright citrus, and stone fruit with deep notes of vanilla and honey and a lengthy, mouth-coating finish • No added coloring • Non-chill filtered; 54.5% ABV
Absent stateside for years, Chichibu Distillery’s On the Way returns with this vatting of fifty-eight casks—only 600 bottles of which will make it to the US! 100% of the malt in the blend was floor malted at Chichibu Distillery, a rare and laborious process in which soaked barley is spread across a concrete floor and manually turned by hand to promote germination, resulting in deeper honied and nutty flavors than typically found when using automated malting processes.