A single cask of Kanosuke single malt bottled for Hong Kong, released jointly with Tiffany's New York Bar. It was distilled in October 2019, bottled in spring 2023 at a full 60% and filled into 255 bottles.
About This Whisky
This was the second Distiller's Choice single cask that Kanosuke bottled for Hong Kong. The spirit is unpeated malt that spent a little over three and a half years in a sherry butt, followed by three months in a bourbon hogshead to finish. It went into the bottle at cask strength with no chill filtration. The label art, drawn by the Japanese comic artist koke_goh, shows a shepherd dog named Nova out for a walk on a Hong Kong street.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Orange wax, caramel and dark chocolate over a clear layer of sherry.
- Palate: Apricot jam and apple tea, then cinnamon and the bitter edge of grapefruit pith. Warm Kagoshima ageing gives it more weight than its age suggests.
- Finish: Citrus and spice, closing on a gentle, bittersweet note.
Serving & Food
At 60% it takes water well. Start neat in a Glencairn, then add a few drops and let it settle before tasting again. Try it with char siu, orange-glazed duck or a square of 70% chocolate.
How to Enjoy
Fans of young, cask-strength Japanese malt, and anyone following the Hong Kong single casks from this distillery.
Product Details
Distillery: Kanosuke
Country: Japan
Region: Hioki, Kagoshima
Category: Single cask Japanese single malt whisky
Distilled: October 2019
Bottled: 2023
Age: 3 years 7 months
Cask: Sherry butt #19069, finished 3 months in a bourbon hogshead
Peat: Unpeated
Filtration: Non-chill filtered
Edition Size: 255 bottles
Bottled For: Tiffany's New York Bar, Hong Kong
ABV: 60.0%
Proof: 120
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Kanosuke belongs to Komasa Jyozo, a shochu house in Hioki, Kagoshima, and was set up in November 2017 as the family's whisky distillery. It takes its name from Kanosuke Komasa, the second-generation head, who created the oak-aged rice shochu Mellowed Kozuru. His grandson Yoshitsugu Komasa, a brewing graduate of Tokyo University of Agriculture, runs the distillery today.
The site looks out over Fukiagehama, a sand-dune coastline of around 47 kilometres on the East China Sea. Winter winds off the water bring cold snaps into an otherwise warm, humid climate, and those swings drive fast maturation.