Chichibu The Peated 2026

THE HOLY SPIRITS VIEW
Chichibu’s heavily peated release only surfaces every few years, and this is only its seventh edition since the first back in 2012. The previous one was 2022, so four years of waiting, and it’s the first standalone peated Chichibu since. Peated to 50 PPM and made during the distillery’s annual month-long peated run, it’s a different animal to the fruit-led Chichibu most people know.
 
THE DISTILLERY
Chichibu was founded by Ichiro Akuto and began distilling in 2008 in Saitama prefecture, about 100km from Tokyo. It has since become one of the most coveted craft distilleries in the world, and its releases rarely stay on shelves for long. Peat is reserved for one concentrated month of production each year, which is why The Peated only appears when the stock allows.
 
THE WHISKY: THE PEATED 2026
The seventh edition of The Peated, returning under Chichibu’s new “Artisan Distillery” tagline. The single malt was matured in predominantly ex-bourbon barrels, alongside oloroso sherry casks and re-coopered hogsheads. Bottled at 50.5% ABV, non-chill filtered, no added colour.
 
TASTING NOTES
Elegant peat smoke up front, never aggressive, honey and caramel underneath, ripe banana, toasted almond, a bright lift of citrus peel. Palate soft, rounded, gentle sweetness cushioning the smoke, ginger spice building through the middle, more honey, more caramel with air, citrus brightening again late. The smoke sits in the background rather than dominating. Finish long, soft and rich, sweet smoke lingering slowly. Poised, a very Japanese take on peat.
 
Serve: Neat, in a Glencairn glass, slowly. A few minutes in the glass lets the smoke settle and the honey and fruit come forward.