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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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September 25, 2019 |
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Genuine Japan, today Chichibu without ChaCha
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No, not particularly proud of that clumsy headline either. Alliterations kill, so triple alliterations, imagine! Anyway, we’re going on with our Japanese week, and since the last one was a Blackadder yesterday, let’s have another Blackadder if you don’t mind… |
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Chichibu 4 yo 2013/2018 (63%, Blackadder, barrel, Virgin American oak finish, cask #2862, 237 bottles) 
Yet another crazy finish by Chichibu. Can we please have some Chichibu Chichibu finish next time, and no plastic surgery? Thank God, Chichibu is Chichibu. Colour: deep gold. Nose: varnish, acetone, tea, orange zests, sawdust, fresh mint, celeriac and other roots. Not a bad combo, mind you, it just feels pretty doped. Well-doped. With water: more bread. Fresh baguette, of course. Mouth (neat): doped, but totally excellent. Good, good, well done, I take my hat off to you. Oranges, lemon balm, peppermint, nutmeg, liquorice, cedar wood. With water: and earth, mushrooms, pepper, lime, and just a drop of cologne. Finish: long, fresh, spicy and herbal. Between gentian, limoncello, and verbena liqueur. Comments: they got me here. A virgin oak finish?
SGP:561 - 88 points. |
So we said Chichibu today… |
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Chichibu 2011/2018 ‘Peated’ (62.9%, OB, for La Maison du Whisky, Chronicles, Mangacamo, ex-Hanyu cask, cask #2070, 258 bottles) 
I think we tried all the other Chronicles, not too sure. Colour: white wine. Always good news. Nose: blend young Ardbeg with young Laphroaig, fifty-fifty. It is kind of obvious, luminous, evident, and implacable. Let’s move on. With water: oh, burnt tyres! And crushed olives and some wine vinegar. Bandages and ointments. I think they did something very well here… Mouth (neat): I’d rather say young Ardbeg, with a tablespoon of banana liqueur. Like, 1%, max. Which, mind you, works extremely well. But really, this is eminently Ardbeggian, although I’m sure that wasn’t the main goal. With water: wow! (in French that’s ouah!) Once again, this is very Ardbeg. We love to needle Ardbeg – and Chichibu – but that’s because we love Ardbeg – and Chichibu. Finish: long, saltier and more lemony. More or less the finish of a proper young… right, starts with an A. Comments: what was that? Chichibeg? Ardchibu?
SGP:457 - 90 points. |
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Chichibu 2013/2018 (48.7%, OB, for Prineus Germany, oloroso hogshead, cask #2593, 306 bottles)
This is Chichibu under the Ichiro’s Malt banner. Don’t know who Prineus are but they have good tastes. Colour: orange-y amber. Nose: it’s not unusual that casks that have naturally dropped under 50% when still very young would be very good. It seems that that’s the case here. Wonderful fruit breads, raisins, dough, copper, dried dates, and fresh cinnamon rolls. Absolutely love fresh cinnamon rolls – but who doesn’t? Mouth: of course. No red wine and presto, success! Wonderful breads, spices, pastries, dried fruits, and a good dollop of walnut wine. Finish: rather long, and even more on cinnamon rolls. One ought to start a Friends of Cinnamon Rolls on Facebook (before someone jails Zuck). Comments: it’s not only very good, it’s also very smart. You can’t do much better at just, what, 5 years of age? Scandalously excellent.
SGP:551 - 90 points. |
It's magic, is it not? But this may be different… Why not Inca figs wine while they are at it? Dutch mackerel beer? Swedish surströmming likör? |
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Chichibu ‘IPA cask finish‘ (57.5%, OB, 6700 bottles, 2017) 
An IPA finish? That sounds pretty WTF if you ask me (which means Where’s The Funnel, naturally). Were IPA casks ‘traditional’ at some point? Now it’s true that we aren’t in Scotland, are we… And Glenfiddich did it as well. Colour: gold. Nose: LOL. Rose petals, citric hops (citra), kiwis and litchis, pink grapefruits, ylang-ylang, and really, perfume for wealthy older ladies. It’s extremely singular. With water: wha-a-at? Huge musk, really. It’s extremely musky. Perhaps some pecan pie, and that red thing they make in Lyons, tarte aux pralines. Google is your friend - just hope they would pay their taxes. Mouth (neat): really, it’s marc de gewurztraminer, blended with small-berry white muscat wine. Why not, I agree… With water: totally LOL, and totally on muscat wine. Would love to hear about the kind of hops they’ve used to flavour that IPA. Finish: long, very fruity, really not bad, just extremely sweet – and yet not sugary at all. Comments: just call this an experiment and I’ll be happy. Not quite whisky, and not sure you needed whisky to come up with such a spirit, but well, I suppose it’s still better than the tequila-ed Scotches to come…. I’m asking you, what's the world coming to? Nah, it’s Chichibu, so it’s well crafted, at the very least.
SGP:641 - 82 points. |
A last Chichibu, so perhaps a proper BB cask?... |
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Chichibu 2011/2018 (59,7%, OB, for Prineus Germany, bourbon, cask #1179, 207 bottles)
So another one for those German chaps with impeccable tastes. Full bourbon and no finishing, that’s whisky as nature intended. Let’s see… Colour: white wine/straw. Nose: get out of here! Custard, croissants, white currants and gooseberries, and just a whiff of tincture of benzoin. Immaculate. With water: yep. Peach bread, perhaps? Mouth (neat): crikey, how good is that? Sure it’s not very deep, nor complex, and neither is it spectacular, but it’s precise, like an old well-taken-care-of Swiss watch. Millimetric vanilla, dough, shortbread, barley, oranges, and a wee touch of lovage for good measure. Cal that miso if you must. With water: not the first time I notice that Chichibu swims very well – even the craziest finishes do. Peaches and apricot biscuits with a firmer maltiness. Finish: long, on cakes. Liquid pastry. Comments: let’s talk about carbon emissions and efficiency at the Japanese whisky distilleries. Okay, maybe next time.
SGP:451 - 89 points. |
That’s it, but we’ll have many more, newer crazy Chichibus next month, if God lets me live… |
(Wirklich, danke vielmals, Chris at Sushi & Soul in Munich!) |
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