Bottled at 46% ABV in a 750ml format, Ichiro’s Malt & Grain is from Chichibu Distillery in Saitama, Japan. It is labeled as a “world blended whisky” and includes malt and grain whiskies sourced from Japan, the U.S., Canada, Ireland and Scotland.
Chichibu Ichiro’s Malt and Grain straddles that awkward area where it’s generally enjoyable because it has some decently matured traits, has nothing inherently wrong / unpleasant with it, and yet is often dull and uninteresting. Some parts are good, but as a whole it leaves me confused as to why everything smells and tastes so closed-off and mostly lifeless.
For being an "all world whisky" of distillates from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and the United States, I can think of few whiskies from those countries to match this blend. Ichiro's Malt and Grain does everything I want and rarely find in a whisky...
On the palate, the vanilla grows more intense with toffee, pepper, ginger, and citrus following closely. Bananas re-emerge during the medium, sweet finish alongside notes of mango and grapefruit.
