Risen from the ashes of the legendary Hanyu Distillery, Chichibu was established in 2004 by master distiller and blender lchiro Akuto. Uniquely, Chichibu is home to its own cooperage and floor malting facility, anomalies by any measured distillery standard. Chichibu is also the only distillery in the world to use 100% Mizunara Japanese oak wash backs. All of this coupled with the continuing practice of marking heads and tails by smell and taste rather than timed measurement adds to the illustrious status of this small yet impactful distillery.