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Swedish
whisky enthusiast Pye Palm set to host
the worlds most expensive whisky
tasting, a tasting of the complete
Ichiro’s Malt Card Collection.
If you have ever wanted to taste the
Ichiro Malt Card collection from the
Hanyu distillery in Japan now is your
chance as between 1 - 3 November this
year in Gothenburg, Sweden there will be
an exclusive tasting event hosted by
Swedish whisky enthusiast Pye Palm.
The Ichiro Malt Card collection tasting
will be led by Japanese whisky expert,
Stefan Van Eycken and considering the
last time a complete Ichiro Malt Card
collection sold at auction for $455,000
in September 2017 tickets for the event
are not going to be cheap, with only 48
seats available at the event the cost of
a single ticket is approaching $21,000.
Ichiro’s Malt Card Series originates
from the Hanyu Distillery, one of the
smallest and most renowned distilleries
in Japan, which ceased production
in 2000. The founder’s grandson, Ichiro Akuto saved 400 casks when the
distillery shut down and the best ones,
between 1985 to 2000 were used for the
bottling of his playing-card collection.
"The estimated value of the full deck
series today would be around $775,000. I
could sell it, of course, but I think
sharing the experience with other whisky
enthusiasts is much more fun," says
Palm, who has collected his series
during several trips to Japan over the
last 30 years.
Just like a full deck of playing cards,
the collection features 52 single cask
editions that each represent a card in a
poker deck, plus two additional jokers.
The bottles are signed by Ichiro Akuto,
the distillery founder’s grandson, who
saved 400 casks when the distillery shut
down in 2000 and started the bottling of
his playing card collection.
"The Ichiro's Malt Card Series is one of
the most iconic series in the world of
whisky. This is only the second time a
complete tasting of the series will be
held, and the first time ever that all
the bottles are opened specifically for
one event," says Belgian author and
Japanese whisky expert Stefan Van Eycken,
who is leading the tasting seminar in
November.
The event will be held at the five-star
Upper House hotel. It includes a dinner
at the Michelin awarded Upper House
Dining, a rooftop restaurant on the 25th
floor overlooking the city of
Gothenburg.
The whisky seminar will be divided into
four tastings, so called flights. Each
will include 13 to 14 bottles with a 1
cl tasting of each. Each bottle has its
own original card label and its own
unique flavour.
“Hanyu has a very particular character.
Referring to Ichiro himself, it’s unlike
any other whisky you’ve tasted before.
Prepare some shiny, fresh and ripe
fruits, colourful root vegetables, both
brown and white sugar, and some exotic
spices. Then mix all this with sweet and
sour fruit juice in a glass. That’s the
best way I can describe it,” says Van
Eycken.
As an additional treat, a limited
edition special malt will be released to
commemorate the occasion.
All guests participating in the tasting
seminar in Gothenburg will become
honorable members of the Monochrome
Joker Club. The club is founded by Pye
Palm as an extension of the whisky
tasting seminar, and is exclusive to the
select few worldwide who have tasted all
54 casks of Ichiro’s Malt Card Series.
“I thought it would be fun to create a
space for like-minded, passionate
enthusiasts with a true dedication for
the flavours of whisky. The idea is to
invite members to a number of worldwide
tastings of different Hanyu whiskies,”
says Palm.
If you are interested in attending the Ichiro’s
Malt Card Series Seminar visit the
website
www.mono-joker.club
If the tasting is a little out of your
price range you may be interested in
individual bottles of Ichiro Malt whisky
which do occasionally
come available to buy from specialist
online whisky retailers such as
The Whisky Exchange
and
Master of Malt
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