Chichibu Australia Edition 2026 has been announced by Casa de Vinos, marking the third annual release in a series developed with Japan’s Chichibu Distillery. The single malt is bottled at 48.5% ABV, limited to 480 bottles, and features label artwork by Sydney-based artist Yosi Messiah.
The 2026 edition is an entirely non-peated whisky. It combines six casks, bringing together bourbon barrel, hogshead, Chibidaru and a local Chichibu red-wine cask component.
Chibidaru is Japanese for “small cask”, the equivalent of a scotch quarter cask, and is made in Chichibu’s own cooperage.
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The Australia Edition series began in 2024 as a way to connect Chichibu whisky with Australian creative practice. The first two releases featured watercolours by Melbourne artist Mark Cowell, depicting a Melbourne W-class tram in 2024 and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2025.
For this release, Casa de Vinos deliberately changed both artist and visual direction. Messiah is known for figurative abstract work featuring strong colour, movement and recurring imaginary female figures and Geishas.
The finished work, titled “Whisky Girl”, was created in mixed media with silver and gold pigment. The Geisha was adapted to hold a whisky glass, and the background was developed to complement the amber colour of the whisky.
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READ THE STORY“To me Geishas represent refinement, elegance, beauty and strength,” said Messiah.
He added: “I loved the idea from the outset and felt humbled that my art was chosen to feature in this unique way.”
Jose Dymenstein of Casa de Vinos explained the thinking behind the commission. “I had admired Yosi’s Geisha paintings for some time, and I liked the idea of an Australian artist bringing his own practice to a whisky made in Chichibu,” he said.
“The brief was not to imitate a Japanese style. I asked Yosi to keep the work recognisably his and make it bright, vivid and colourful,” Dymenstein added.
The whisky is produced by Venture Whisky Ltd at the Chichibu Distillery in Saitama Prefecture. The craft distillery was founded in 2008 by Ichiro Akuto, and it received the first new whisky distillery license granted in Japan in 35 years.
Official tasting notes from the brand list a nose of grapefruit, honey and orange peel, a palate of apricot, milk chocolate and lychee, and a finish that is “refreshing, mild and remarkably smooth”.
Chichibu Australia Edition 2026 will be available from 15 November 2026 at a recommended retail price of $385 (£186), through Casa de Vinos and specialist Australian liquor retailers, as well as whisky bars including The Baxter Inn in Sydney and Death & Taxes in Brisbane.
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