Whisky: Chichibu 7 Year (2014), SMWS 130.7 "Sings like Summer!"

Country/Region: Japan

ABV: 64.4%

Cask: Refill Bourbon Hogshead

Age: 7 Years (Distilled 9 June 2014)

Nose: Marshmallow, fruits, malty sugars, orchard fruits, polished wood, cinnamon spice, herbal tea.

Palate: Medium-bodied, bright and spicy, aromatic wood, cinnamon, citrus rind, pepper, fruity candies, herbal tea; more spice toward the end.

Finish: Long and lingering with waxy, fruity candies and cinnamon spice.

Score: 6+ (80)

Mental Image: Breakfast Cereal Buffet Line

Narrative & Notes: Marshmallows and juicy fruits collided— was this Lucky Charm’s breakfast cereal?  More malty sugars followed with pears, apples, and cinnamon spice recalling other boxes breakfast cereals. More subtle notions of overripe mango, resin, and polished wood lingered in the background with herbal chamomile tea.  Medium-bodied on the palate with bright and spicy aromatic woods, cinnamon tea, dried lemon rind, and black pepper arriving first.  Hints of cola flittered in and out as peach rings, mango candies, and dried plums developed with an almost candied sweetness. Herbal tea and peppery cinnamon spice lingered at the end with a malty sweetness and hints of marshmallow.  The finish was long with waxy candies, peach rings, and cinnamon pastries.

Good, but not great.  This was not as refined and elegant as some of the other Chichibu casks released by SMWS with more prickly and peppery spirit notes.  The aroma was pleasant with sweet fruits and marshmallows paired against woodsy spices— the palate reframed similar themes, but with the spicier elements of the profile coming to the fore.  I hoped that with more time to rest, the fruitier qualities would move to the front, but that never happened.

I initially tried this at a birthday tasting for our local whisky club, which happened to fall on my actual birthday.  According several attendees who had previously tried the bottle in Japan, the whisky felt closed off and shy— nothing like the jammy fruits and pastries they remembered. I waited several months to revisit the sample I took home, hoping it open up and mellow out. When I compared my notes from the tasting and revisit, they had not changed much.

Is it possible the bottles that came to the US suffered some degradation during the long delay from their bottling to release? Maybe, or maybe this just needed even more time.