Hanyu was founded by Ichiro Akuto’s grandfather in the 1940s, near Tokyo. Wanting to enter the production of single malt, two stills were purchased in 1980 but, as the Japanese were still accustomed to blends, the distillery was closed in 2000 and destroyed in 2004. After a few years in a sake brewery in northern Japan, the stock was purchased by Ichiro who created his own brand “Ichiro’s Malt” in 2005. The hundred barrels that remain are now in Chichibu, and are bottled under various labels including the famous “Card Series” range.

The distillery of Hanyu was founded in 1941 by Isouji Akuto and was closed in 2000 and destroyed in 2004. His grandson, Ichiro Akuto, purchased the remaining barrels which he stored in 2008 in the cellar of the distillery he had just created: Chichibu. Selected by La Maison du Whisky, this version perfectly transcribes the somewhat wild and uncompromising style of this single malt. The animal notes of the first nose are a vibrant testimony to this.