Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Yumi Yoshikawa is the global brand ambassador for Chichibu Distillery, the small operation in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, which has become the most celebrated whisky producer in the world.
We map out the full picture: two malt distilleries in Chichibu and a brand-new grain distillery that started production in Hokkaido in January 2026, before going deep into what actually happens at Distillery I — the multi-origin barley programme, the floor malting Ichiro Akuto spent years visiting England to learn, the Mizunara oak washbacks and the lactic bacteria they bring to every fermentation, and the switch to direct fire at Distillery II that Ichiro always wanted but waited a decade to attempt.
We discuss cask management and work through an extraordinary range of wood: bourbon, sherry, wine, cognac, rum, Madeira, port, IPA beer, tequila and the occasional grappa cask. We taste three whiskies together, including the first UK pour of the Distillery II single malt, an unreleased Double Distilleries blend, and a cask sample straight from the warehouse — seven years old, local Japanese barley, 59.4%, 100% Mizunara Oak — that has no right to taste as good as it does.
We also cover Ichiro's story: 21 generations of brewing, the loss of Hanyu, the rescue of 400 casks and the two years he spent visiting 2,000 bars across Japan to build support for a distillery he hadn't yet opened.
Yumi's own journey closes things out: a bartender who cycled around Scotland with her CV, worked at The Highlander Inn in Craigellachie alongside a young Tatsuya Minagawa, negotiated simultaneous seasons at both The Highlander and Bruichladdich, and joined Chichibu in 2013
With thanks to our sponsors:
🍋🟩 Fever-Tree - For the very best mixers that taste pretty damn good even by themselves
☕ Algebra Drinks - The world's best coffee liqueur (partly because it's low in sugar - get 15% off at algebradrinks.com with the code CURIOUS15
🌾 Belvedere Vodka - Organic vodka, with substance, made from Polish rye and absolutely no additives.
🍷 Denver & Liely - The best glassware on the planet - get 15% off at denverandliely.com with the code CURIOUS15
📷 Follow me on Instagram - instagram.com/tristanstephenson
📚 I've written quite a few books on spirits and cocktails - thecuriousbartender.com
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:46 The Venture Whisky operation: three distilleries
00:02:05 Chichibu I vs II — scale, direct fire, and experimental distilling
00:05:52 Tomakomai — the new grain distillery in Hokkaido
00:07:55 Barley — local, global, and processed separately
00:11:04 Floor malting — why inconsistency creates complexity
00:14:13 Fermentation — Mizunara vs French oak washbacks
00:16:49 Distillation — cut points, nose, and the 100% philosophy
00:24:28 Tasting: Chichibu II first release — first UK pour
00:27:19 Cask management — where more than half the quality is made
00:30:21 The cask portfolio — bourbon to tequila to grappa
00:31:56 Mizunara oak — incense, auctions, and furniture makers
00:34:15 The cooperage — building casks and training young hands
00:37:18 The product range — single cask to blended malt
00:38:33 Tasting: Double Distilleries — unreleased
00:46:51 Philosophy — going back to tradition
00:47:30 Ichiro Akuto — 21 generations and the family story
00:49:25 Hanyu — rescuing 400 casks from a closing distillery
00:51:12 The Card Series — 54 releases and a meeting with a designer
00:51:55 2,000 bars in two years — how Ichiro built an audience for a dream
00:58:46 What will 30-year-old Chichibu taste like?
01:03:13 Tasting: 7-year-old Mizunara sample — local barley, 59.4%
01:09:30 The Highlander Inn — Yumi's Scotland years, Tatsuya Minagawa and Jim McEwan
01:14:39 Age is just a number
01:15:42 The real secret — hiring for passion
01:17:05 Would Yumi ever open her own distillery?
Yumi Yoshikawa is the global brand ambassador for Chichibu Distillery, the small operation in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, which has become the most celebrated whisky producer in the world.
We map out the full picture: two malt distilleries in Chichibu and a brand-new grain distillery that started production in Hokkaido in January 2026, before going deep into what actually happens at Distillery I — the multi-origin barley programme, the floor malting Ichiro Akuto spent years visiting England to learn, the Mizunara oak washbacks and the lactic bacteria they bring to every fermentation, and the switch to direct fire at Distillery II that Ichiro always wanted but waited a decade to attempt.
We discuss cask management and work through an extraordinary range of wood: bourbon, sherry, wine, cognac, rum, Madeira, port, IPA beer, tequila and the occasional grappa cask. We taste three whiskies together, including the first UK pour of the Distillery II single malt, an unreleased Double Distilleries blend, and a cask sample straight from the warehouse — seven years old, local Japanese barley, 59.4%, 100% Mizunara Oak — that has no right to taste as good as it does.
We also cover Ichiro's story: 21 generations of brewing, the loss of Hanyu, the rescue of 400 casks and the two years he spent visiting 2,000 bars across Japan to build support for a distillery he hadn't yet opened.
Yumi's own journey closes things out: a bartender who cycled around Scotland with her CV, worked at The Highlander Inn in Craigellachie alongside a young Tatsuya Minagawa, negotiated simultaneous seasons at both The Highlander and Bruichladdich, and joined Chichibu in 2013
With thanks to our sponsors:
🍋🟩 Fever-Tree - For the very best mixers that taste pretty damn good even by themselves
☕ Algebra Drinks - The world's best coffee liqueur (partly because it's low in sugar - get 15% off at algebradrinks.com with the code CURIOUS15
🌾 Belvedere Vodka - Organic vodka, with substance, made from Polish rye and absolutely no additives.
🍷 Denver & Liely - The best glassware on the planet - get 15% off at denverandliely.com with the code CURIOUS15
📷 Follow me on Instagram - instagram.com/tristanstephenson
📚 I've written quite a few books on spirits and cocktails - thecuriousbartender.com
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:46 The Venture Whisky operation: three distilleries
00:02:05 Chichibu I vs II — scale, direct fire, and experimental distilling
00:05:52 Tomakomai — the new grain distillery in Hokkaido
00:07:55 Barley — local, global, and processed separately
00:11:04 Floor malting — why inconsistency creates complexity
00:14:13 Fermentation — Mizunara vs French oak washbacks
00:16:49 Distillation — cut points, nose, and the 100% philosophy
00:24:28 Tasting: Chichibu II first release — first UK pour
00:27:19 Cask management — where more than half the quality is made
00:30:21 The cask portfolio — bourbon to tequila to grappa
00:31:56 Mizunara oak — incense, auctions, and furniture makers
00:34:15 The cooperage — building casks and training young hands
00:37:18 The product range — single cask to blended malt
00:38:33 Tasting: Double Distilleries — unreleased
00:46:51 Philosophy — going back to tradition
00:47:30 Ichiro Akuto — 21 generations and the family story
00:49:25 Hanyu — rescuing 400 casks from a closing distillery
00:51:12 The Card Series — 54 releases and a meeting with a designer
00:51:55 2,000 bars in two years — how Ichiro built an audience for a dream
00:58:46 What will 30-year-old Chichibu taste like?
01:03:13 Tasting: 7-year-old Mizunara sample — local barley, 59.4%
01:09:30 The Highlander Inn — Yumi's Scotland years, Tatsuya Minagawa and Jim McEwan
01:14:39 Age is just a number
01:15:42 The real secret — hiring for passion
01:17:05 Would Yumi ever open her own distillery?
