Apparently there is another bottling for 2013 that did not fare as well, but had a bottle count of 4200... which is massive considering this was Chichibu in 2009. I also believe this port pipe labeling is like a series in the Chichibu/Ichiro's Malt product line. Not sure if this one is really 180 bottles... wonder what they did with the rest as port pipes are huge. This label art style seems very familiar relative to the Chichibu labels I've seen.

Nose: overcooked beans, legumes, salted vegetables, not much strength on the nose.

Palate: intense, initial palate is like those sweetened sour plums, soured dried berries in general, particularly the more sour kinds, mid palate has flying fish roe, salty, a little fishy, spicey, back palate is fruit juice, boiled jujube juice, some light wood and vines. Overall combined it's a very sweet body.

Finish: medium, ginger, sliced shallots.

Wow, such an interesting port pipe matured whisky! Very sweet with many flavors I've never had before in others, mostly revolving around boiled down berries such as raspberries, blackberries, and boysenberries. Like a very nice cocktail, but in whisky form. Not similar to fruit roll ups, but close to a liquid version. Might be liberal here.

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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