Chichibu – 6 Year Old 2nd Fill Sherry Hogshead #6959 New Vibrations (70cl, 63.1%)

A six-year-old single cask Chichibu single malt from Japan, taken from a second-fill ex-Oloroso sherry hogshead made of Spanish oak. The spirit, distilled from Propino barley, was filled into the cask in 2016 and bottled in 2023 at 63.1%, producing 289 bottles. It is non-chill-filtered and of natural colour. It forms part of the four-part New Vibrations collection, created with the Japanese designer Katsumi Komagata. His nature motifs Bird, Forest, Sky and Wave appear on the labels of the series. The nose is sweet and rich, with Kyoho grape, strawberry jam, fresh blossom, light vanilla and sandalwood. The palate is full, syrupy and oily, with stewed red fruit and raisins giving way to drier oak. The long finish moves from caramel, toffee and coffee grounds to aniseed, clove and mint.