Kirin's Fuji-Sanroku 18 Year Old is a single malt from the Fuji Gotemba distillery, matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 43%. It was launched in 2005 and served for many years as the flagship malt of the distillery.
About This Whisky
Fuji-Sanroku means "the foot of Mount Fuji". The 18 Year Old used malt whisky only, aged at least 18 years in American oak barrels in the cool, foggy warehouses at Gotemba. Kirin's house style is clean and estery, and this bottling reflects it: fruit and cream rather than heavy wood or peat. Reviewers on Whiskybase note a fresh, sweet profile, with pineapple, green apple and red berries over toffee, coconut and milk chocolate. It has since been discontinued, and Kirin now focuses on its Fuji single grain and blended range.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Pineapple, green apple and red berries, with vanilla, toffee and a little cedar.
- Palate: Creamy and fruity. Candied ginger, coconut, milk chocolate and apricot.
- Finish: Medium to long, sweet and slightly drying, with honey, cinnamon and almond.
Serving & Food
Serve neat or with one ice cube in a rocks glass, or lightly chilled in a Glencairn. It also makes a gentle mizuwari with soft water. Scallop sashimi, grilled eel or a slice of cheesecake go well alongside.
How to Enjoy
Anyone curious about Fuji Gotemba malt, which is seldom bottled on its own, and fans of a clean, fruit-forward Japanese style.
Product Details
Producer: Kirin Distillery
Distillery: Fuji Gotemba
Country: Japan
Region: Gotemba, Shizuoka
Expression: Fuji-Sanroku 18 Year Old
Category: Japanese single malt whisky
Age: 18 years
Cask: Ex-bourbon
Released: 2005
ABV: 43%
Proof: 86
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Fuji Gotemba was set up by Kirin-Seagram, a 1972 joint venture between Kirin Brewery and the Seagram group, and it began production in 1973. It sits at about 620 metres on the south-eastern flank of Mount Fuji and draws its water from wells fed by the mountain.
The site makes both malt and grain whisky and handles everything from mashing to bottling. Alongside pot stills it runs column stills and a bourbon-style beer column with a doubler, so it can make several styles of grain spirit. The joint venture became Kirin Distillery in 2002.