Ichiro's Malt & Grain Blue Label

THE HOLY SPIRITS VIEW

Ichiro Akuto's Malt & Grain series proves a world blend can rival any single-origin whisky for elegance - and Blue Label, a limited-edition variant distinct from the better-known White Label, is a genuinely different, harder-to-find expression of that idea. A rare chance to taste Akuto's blending skill at a slightly bolder strength.

THE MAKER

Ichiro Akuto's story starts with loss rather than triumph - his grandfather's Hanyu distillery closed in 2000, leaving him with roughly 400 orphaned casks and no distillery to call home. He bottled that stock as the now-legendary "Card Series," building a following that let him found Venture Whisky and open Chichibu in 2008, now one of the most acclaimed craft distilleries in the world.

THE WHISKY: MALT & GRAIN, BLUE LABEL

A limited-edition entry in Ichiro's World Blended series, distinct from the standard White Label release. Where White Label draws on stock from the US, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and Chichibu, Blue Label is built from Canada, Scotland, Japan and other undisclosed sources, bottled at a slightly bolder 48% ABV with no age statement, non-chill filtered and free of added colour.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: Shortbread biscuit and delicate cherry blossom, with a sharp thread of lemon running through.

Palate: Layered and well-balanced, that same buttery sweetness meeting bright citrus and soft floral character - genuinely different in shape to White Label's apple-and-honey profile.

Finish: Clean and citrus-led, the lemon note lingering longest.

Serve: Neat, in a Glencairn glass - a good side-by-side pour against White Label for anyone curious how differently Akuto can shape the same "world blended" concept.