Chichibu Distillery

The celebrated Chichibu distillery was founded in 2008 by Ichiro Akuto. The Akuto family has a history of sake production that goes back all the way to the early 17th century. In 1941, Ichiro’s grandfather Isouji Akuto built the whisky distillery Hanyu. This is where Ichiro learned the art of whisky distillation and introduced the Ichiro’s Malt brand. The Hanyu distillery ceased production in 2000 and closed completely in 2004. A few years later, Ichiro continued the family business with the new Chichibu distillery, located about 100km northwest of Tokyo. The local climate, with humid summers and cold winters, provides excellent conditions for maturing whisky.