This blended “pure malt” whisky consists of malt whisky vatted from Chichibu, and, possibly, from the now silent Hanyu distillery, previously owned by Ichiro’s family. Finished in Japanese Mizunara oak barrels, this allows drinkers to experience the influence of the world-famous oak.

The maturation process for this whisky was done solely in Mizunara wood, a Japanese oak that is notoriously hard to work with and takes long periods of time to be ready for use. Mizunara oak trees can take as much as 200 years to reach a usable size, while the wood is also hard to bend and shape without cracking or breaking it.

As a result, Mizunara matured whisky is often said to be more luxurious than that matured in bourbon or sherry wood and the expressions created in this way are highly sought after today.

“…If you think of the perfumed aspects of rye, but turned up a notch, then you’re in the right ballpark. In this one there’s even a hint of trail bar maybe it’s a hike in a California old-growth forest.The palate is soft and slow to start, then picks up mouthwatering acidity there’s that rye parallel. Green plum and peach, balanced with spiciness on the end. Once encountered, never forgotten.” – Dave Broom, Whisky Advocate