When veteran Japanese whisky maker Ichiro Akuto closed the doors of his family’s Hanyu distillery in 2000, it could well have been the end of his whisky journey. However, he had other plans – starting from hand-selling single cask whiskies to bartenders and stores across Japan, he eventually realised he needed to make his own whisky again, and the resultant distillery, Chichibu, started production in 2008.

Since then, he has not only received a string of awards for his whisky, but has also led the new wave of Japanese distillers.

In this tasting we’ll get a chance to see where the distillery has come from, where it is at the moment and where it’s going, including the multi-award winning Chichibu The First Ten, a selection of cask samples, and some very exciting new releases, all presented by brand ambassador Yumi Yoshikawa.

A must for fans of Japanese whisky.