Ichiro's Malt & Grain

An unapologetic world whisky blended by Japanese whisky master Ichiro Akuto. Ichiro operates the Chichibu distillery in the Saitama Prefecture. This contains stuff from Canada, Scotland, Ireland, USA, and some of Ichiros own whiskies produced in house. 46.5%, uncolored and non chill-filtered! The nose is softly sweet somewhat reminiscent of Craigellachie. There is a level of brightness but the kind I see fading over time. A bridge of vanilla frosting overlaps this misty Japanese style smoke. Banana with a strong malty character is there and cooked biscuits. Oak mingled sweetness on the finish and the grain showing itself on the tail end bringing a slight oiliness. Finish lasts longer than I predicted. Add a few drops of water and this brings more toffee on the finish. It’s super nice. Even at $110 I like this and see it improving over time. I prefer this to Hibiki Harmony even though it’s a different style blend. I like the complexity of this and the fact it’s uncolored and non chill filtered. I don’t think Harmony is worth $100. I think this is. 91/100

Very very smooth, sweet to start, finishes nicely. Would have loved a little smoke to it, which is why it’s at at 4.25

Too much like a bourbon for me