Today we've got a very nicely labelled Ichiro's Malt & Grain Single Cask World Blended Whisky that's specially bottled for La Maison du Whisky for its Singapore Flower Series. It was aged in a 3rd Fill ex-Peated Bourbon Barrel - so that should give us some not too intense peaty notes and also a more gentle sweet influence from the Bourbon barrel - that tells me the whisky itself should stand out a little more here. 

For these Malt & Grain World Blends, the idea is for Chichibu Distillery to create an expression that's representative of the major whisky producing regions - so you'll find Scotch whisky, Bourbon from the US, Canadian Rye whisky, Irish whiskey and finally Japanese whisky that's from Chichibu Distillery itself! It should showcase the well-regarded Japanese distillery's sourcing and blending expertise, which we'll have to give it a taste for ourselves.

Let's give this a go! 

Ichiro’s Malt & Grain Single Cask Blended Whisky, Exclusively for La Maison du Whisky, Cask #14838, 60.2% ABV - Review

Tasting Note

Aroma: Gentle scents - scoop of vanilla cream, soft cheeses, with a light farmhouse raw unpasteurised sourness, and a side of sliced peaches. 

Taste: Turns up several notches here - more punchy and intense in flavour. Spiced honey, more of that farm-y funkiness of soft cheese, hay, old wood cellars. Lots of Szechuan peppercorn spicy tingle, with an overall lightly sweet and farmy profile.

Finish: Smoked vanilla cream, still with that lightly sour cheese curds, quite farmy and unpasteurised. Really elegant and cohesive, rounded but also quite punchy with a long, nice warmth.

My Thoughts

Very soft on the nose, with a very gentle aromas that takes quite a bit of time to pick up on. But when you get to the palate it’s a total flip - really intense and punchy with so much flavour right in your face. The flavours are really lovely with that really nice farmhouse quality. Into the finish I found this particularly elegant just how cohesive and rounded it was, with a great sensation of a long and deep warmth.

I got to try this at Singapore's Whisky Live 2023, and I'm told that the mega spirits event is going to be held again in 2024 at the Singapore Flyer from 23/24 November 2024.

My Rating: 7/10

Score/Rating Scale :

• 9-10 : Exceptional, highly memorable, 10/10 would buy if I could.
• 7-8 : Excellent, well above most in its category, worth considering buy-zone.
• 4-6 : Good, okay, alright; a few flaws, but acceptable; not bad, but not my personal preference; still worth trying, could be a buy if the price is right.
• 1-3 : Not good; really did not enjoy; wouldn't even recommend trying.
• 0 : Un-scored, might be damaged, new make, or very unusual.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot