Chichibu London Edition 2024

THE HOLY SPIRITS VIEW
Chichibu's annual London Edition is one of the most fiercely chased UK-exclusive releases in Japanese whisky — never repeated, always sold out within days. At just 1,920 bottles worldwide, and the first release since Chichibu's new UK distribution partnership, this is genuine collector territory as much as a serious dram in its own right.
 
THE DISTILLERY
Chichibu, built in Saitama prefecture roughly 100km from Tokyo, is the creation of Ichiro Akuto, whose family has a long history in Japanese alcohol production stretching back through the shuttered Hanyu distillery. Since opening in 2008, Chichibu has become one of the most acclaimed craft distilleries in the world, floor-malting its own barley and using locally coppered stills to build a house style prized for its intensity and purity.
 
THE WHISKY: LONDON EDITION 2024
Now in its seventh year since launching at The Whisky Show in 2018, the London Edition is created exclusively for the UK market. This edition is assembled from around ten casks, predominantly ex-bourbon barrels for gentle sweetness and fruit, balanced by a single red wine cask for added structure. Bottled at 50.5% ABV, the label — designed by Elixir Distillers' Raj Chavda and drawing on Musha-e, the "warriors of ukiyo-e" tradition — depicts a warrior battling a dragon, and glows in the dark, a first for the series.
 
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Creamy vanilla and rich honey, with white peach and a delicate whisper of smoke.
Palate: Velvety and rounded, white pepper and cream meeting red fruit and honeyed sweetness.
Finish: Bright and mineral, closing on lemon meringue and a touch of resinous pine.
Serve: Neat, in a Glencairn glass — this has enough structure and complexity to reward slow, undiluted sipping. A genuine collector's bottle as much as a drinking one.