Chichibu distillery is a small distillery with only nine full-time employees. The distillery is owned by Venture whisky, which was founded in 2004 in Chichibu city, Saitama, just outside of Tokyo (hence its name). This particular offering from Ichiro’s Range is an Ashiya Diary release, bursting with notes of oak and smoke, and bringing all the intensity of a cask strength release, with a surprising smoothness following closely.