From the shelf
Everything we have from Chichibu
Click on a bottle for the rest of the details.
A single cask of Chichibu, chosen by a Scot
Chichibu rarely appears on the Dutch market and is usually gone within days. We have three: the world blend Malt & Grain, a set in which a Chichibu stands next to a Mars Komagatake, and a single cask selected and bottled by the Scottish Adelphi. Of that one we have exactly one left.
That last one is a reversal of how things went for decades: a Scottish bottler putting a Japanese whisky on the bottle. If you do not know which one you need, give us a call. That is what we are here for.
The three bottles we have in stock
From a world blend at 56 euros to a single cask at 56.1 percent.
Ichiro’s Malt & Grain World Blended Whisky
Ichiro’s Malt & Grain: whisky from five countries blended together in Chichibu. 46%.
€ 55,99
Mars Komagatake × Chichibu Malt Duo 2021
Set with one Chichibu and one Mars Komagatake, bottled together in 2021. 54%.
€ 325,00
Adelphi Chichibu 6 Years Old 2018
Six years from cask #9197, bottled by the Scottish bottler Adelphi. 56.1%.
€ 339,99
Four hundred casks that nobody wanted
- The distillery in five moments
- 2000The family distillery Hanyu falls silent.
- 2004Ichiro Akuto sets up Venture Whisky and rescues four hundred casks.
- 2005–2014Those casks appear as the Card Series, now collector's items.
- 2008Chichibu starts distilling: the first new Japanese distillery in 35 years.
- 2019A second distillery opens to keep up with demand.
The Akuto family has been making sake since about 1625 in Chichibu, in the mountains of Saitama, some hundred kilometres from Tokyo. When the family business ran into financial trouble, the Hanyu distillery was sold. The buyer did not want the four hundred casks of whisky that were still lying there.
Ichiro Akuto, grandson of the founder, took them over and founded Venture Whisky in 2004. Those casks became the Card Series: fifty-one bottlings with playing cards on the label, now highly sought after by collectors. With the proceeds he built a distillery of his own, which began distilling in 2008: the first new one in Japan since Hakushu in 1973.
Chichibu deliberately works on a small, old-fashioned scale: its own malting floor, fermentation vessels of mizunara oak and stills from Forsyths in Scotland. The region helps: hot summers and dry, cold winters speed up maturation, so young whisky tastes older here than it is.
The first own series sold out in a few days. Since then, that has been the standard pattern.
What is Ichiro’s Malt?
The brand name of Venture Whisky, named after founder Ichiro Akuto. Under that name appear both the whiskies of Chichibu itself and the old Hanyu casks and blended bottlings such as Malt & Grain. If you search the online shop, search for Ichiro’s Malt too: not every bottle has Chichibu prominently on the label.
View all Chichibu in the online shop
Three bottles, with the current price and stock. Also search for Ichiro’s Malt.
Frequently asked questions about Chichibu
How much Chichibu does ’t Bockje have in stock?
Three bottles: the world blend Ichiro’s Malt & Grain, a set with a Chichibu next to a Mars Komagatake, and a single cask from bottler Adelphi, of which we have exactly one left.
Why is Chichibu so hard to get?
Because the distillery is small and demand is worldwide. Releases are often sold out within days. A second distillery was added in 2019, but the whisky from it still has to mature.
What is Ichiro’s Malt?
The brand name of Venture Whisky, the company behind Chichibu, named after founder Ichiro Akuto. Under that name appear the whiskies from Chichibu itself, the old Hanyu casks and blended bottlings. Search for it in the online shop too.
What is the Card Series?
Fifty-one bottlings from the closed distillery Hanyu, with playing cards on the label, released between 2005 and 2014. Akuto rescued those four hundred casks when the family business was sold; they are now sought-after collectors' items.
Why does young Chichibu already taste so mature?
Because of the climate in Saitama: hot, humid summers and dry, cold winters. That big difference speeds up the interaction between whisky and wood, so that young whisky tastes older than its age.
Does ’t Bockje also ship Chichibu abroad?
Yes. We ship to around forty countries. Email info@bockje.nl if you want to know whether your country is included.
Order, collect or drop by
- In stock in our shop at Brink 2 in Bathmen
- Available to order online and have delivered, including abroad
- Order online or collect in Bathmen
- Personal advice via 0570 541 278 or info@bockje.nl
- Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday 09.00–18.00, Saturday 09.00–17.00. Closed Monday and Sunday
Wij verkopen geen alcohol aan personen onder de 18 jaar. NIX18.
All 2 bottles at a glance
Each bottle shows the details from the label.
Keep browsing
- All 1 bottle from this brandIn our database, with price and stock
- Ons complete whisky-assortimentRuim 3.984 verschillende flessen
- All whisky brands we stockFrom Aberfeldy to Yamazaki
- YamazakiJapan, the established name
- AkkeshiJapan, also a young distillery
- AdelphiThe bottler of the single cask above
- Cutty SarkBlend, devised by Berry Bros & Rudd
- ObanHighlands, 9 bottles from Oban
- About our wine and spirits shopBrink 2, Bathmen
Photo of the distillery: Ebiebi2 (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Bottle images: own online shop.
Brink 2, Bathmen
All our stock is in the shop, not in a warehouse somewhere else. If you walk in with a name you couldn't find anywhere, it is often simply here on the shelf. You can also call: 0570 541 278.
Wij verkopen geen alcohol aan personen onder de 18 jaar. NIX18
- Tuesday to Friday 09.00 – 18.00
- Saturday 09.00 – 17.00
- Monday and Sunday closed