Chichibu Distillery

About the distillery

Chichibu Distillery is located in Saitama, in the town of Chichibu, and is one of Japan’s most distinctive craft distilleries. Since 2008, Venture Whisky has created Ichiro’s Malt in very small batches, with its own malting, local ingredients, and a clear preference for mizanara and other artisanal methods that give the site its unique character. With the opening of the second distillery in 2019, capacity was significantly increased.

History

The story begins in 2004, when Venture Whisky was founded in Chichibu. Behind the venture was Akuto Ichiro, who had worked in the large spirits industry and later came close to whisky through the family’s earlier distillery in Hanyu. When Hanyu closed, remaining casks were saved and later released as the first Ichiro’s Malt bottlings, including the Card series and the Hanyu releases. In 2008, Chichibu Distillery opened, and already the following year, the first early series came out. In the years that followed, the reputation grew with releases such as MWR, Wine Wood Reserve, Double Distilleries, The Peated, The Floor Malted, On the Way, and Chichibu Chibi Daru. At the same time, investments were made in local grain, own malting, new warehouse buildings, and an in-house cooperage. In 2019, Chichibu Dai-ni arrived with far greater capacity, and in 2020, the ten-year-old Chichibu The First Ten followed. Later, both Ichiro’s Malt and master blender Ichiro Akuto have been honored with international and Japanese awards, and in 2025, the distillery came in its second generation with its first official single malt.

Ingredients and production

Production in Chichibu is characterized by very small batches and a clear focus on craftsmanship. The first distillery works with 400 kg of malt per batch, while the second can go up to 2 tons. Both facilities use Forsyth’s copper equipment, but they are built differently: the first distillery has mizanara casks as fermentation vessels and a traditional, small setup, while the second uses French oak casks from Taransaud and a semi-lauter tun with a side window, so that the malt layer can be seen. The water comes from Otsuchigawa as tap water, and both imported malt and barley from Saitama are used, including local varieties such as Sainohoshi, Myogibozu, and Golden Melon Saitama 1. Own malting and floor malting take up an important part of the work, and in the first production, around one fifth of the need for malt is covered by in-house malting. The first distillery uses steam heating, while the second distillery uses direct gas firing on both stills. Fermentation lasts about 100 hours, and the distillery combines different levels of smoke and peat depending on style and release.

Maturation and cask types

Maturation takes place in a shared structure with dunnage warehouses and a rack warehouse, with a total capacity of about 30,000 casks. During the first period, wood finishing and further experiments were also carried out, which helped define the house early on. Later, an in-house cooperage was added, and in 2018, work began on mizunara wood from the natural plantings of the Chichibu mountains for cask production. The storage environment therefore ranges from classic warehouses to more special Japanese wood experiments, allowing the distillery to both mature and shape the whisky on several levels.

Whiskies

The range stretches from the early Ichiro’s Malt releases to more established core titles and newer distiller’s editions. Among the best-known names are MWR, Wine Wood Reserve, and Double Distilleries as the blended whiskies, while The Peated, The Floor Malted, On the Way, Chibi Daru, and The First Ten represent the distillery’s single malt expressions. In addition, there is a series of special releases from both the first and second distillery, including limited bottlings, festival bottlings, and collaborations. The whole is characterized by small batches, great variety, and a clear foundation in Chichibu’s own production.

General tasting profile

Visit the distillery

Chichibu Distillery cannot be visited by the public, and there is also no visitor center connected to the facility. The same applies to the second distillery, where no standard tours are offered. Therefore, the visit experience is not part of the distillery’s current offering, and there are no opening hours or booking options in the material available here.

Philosophy and craftsmanship

Chichibu builds its identity on small batches, local roots, and active craftsmanship. The distillery uses Japanese and imported barley, works with its own malting, and lets both mizanara and French oak casks be included in production. At the same time, its in-house cooperage and the use of direct gas firing at the second facility are deliberate choices that point toward control, flexibility, and a more tangible approach to whisky production.