Hanyu 1990 "The Wave" Cask 9305

Hanyu Ichiro's Malt 5 of Diamonds

This is one of the very last expressions in Ichiro Akuto’s “Card Series”. It was distilled in 2000 and matured in a hogshead before being finished in a sherry butt. It was released in 2012. The nose is very sweet and aromatic. At the beginning there is slight rubber, testimony to the sherry butt that this was finished in. Next come berries and...

Score 84/100

Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt 2000 Single Cask

Chichibu distillery is located in the town of Chichibu, close to the city of Saitama and about 120 kilometres to the northwest of Tokyo. Ichiro Akuto, the distillery’s charismatic founder, started construction planning in 2007, and after completing the distillery, a bottling plant and a warehouse he began distilling in the spring of 2008. The...

Score 84/100

Hanyu 1988 21 Year Old Noh Cask #9306

Noh refers to a tradtional form of Japanese theater with masks. Hence the label. This Japanese whisky was put to sleep in 1988 in a sherry butt that yielded 625 bottles at cask strength in 2009. The nose is very fruity on all kinds of dried fruits: dried figs, raisins, candied cherries. Delicious. Some menthol and roasted nuts. Nice touch of smoke...

Score 92/100

Hanyu 17 Year Old 1990 Single Cask #9511

The Hanyu distillery is no more. The firm goes back to the 17th Century, but only since 1980 do they distill whisky (before they made sake, of course) after installing two pot stills. The distillery was built during the Second World War in the town of the same name a little northwest of Tokyo, close to the river Tone. However, in 2000 it went...

Score 88/100