Kanosuke 2023 Edition

World Whisky Review : Kanosuke 2023 Edition

Distillery: Kanosuke.

Region: Kagoshima, Japan.

Age: NAS.

ABV: 59.0%. Cask Strength.

Cask Type: Sherry and re-charred American white oak shochu casks.

Price: Part of an advent calendar curated by /u/federalagents, /u/dangerousdoorknob, and myself. Bottle was submitted by /u/demitastes.

Color: 1.2, Chestnut / Oloroso Sherry.

This is the tenth installment of this year’s Christmas Countdown. You can find previous installments here.

Nose: Starts with a very light smoke, like a sweeter tobacco smoke. It smells a lot like a very clean and crisp soju/shochu aside from the light smoke – just like mountain spring water with a little bit of alcohol. There’s also a light fruity note that reminds me of Sac Sac, a Korean grape juice containing peeled green grapes.

Palate: This is very similar to the nose. There’s a little bit of sweet tobacco smoke, a bit of clean mountain water, and then a bit of fruit. The fruit note is more like a red grape or some kind of berry than the green grapes on the nose. Perhaps it’s goji berry or jujube?

Finish: Long but it doesn’t have a ton going on. You get a bit of charred oak and a bit of roasted barley that lasts forever.

Conclusion: I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anyone use a recharred shochu barrel before to age or finish whisky so I was naturally pretty excited to give this Kanosuke a try. I wasn’t sure you’d get any much influence from it but it seems to at least have imparted something on the nose for sure. I really like the light bits of sweeter smoke and the bits of fruit throughout. The roasted barley and charred oak in the finish are nice reminder that this is in fact a malt whisky as well. Overall, this is a pretty nice to drink and unique whisky from Kanosuke.

Rating: 81.

World Whisky Review , Japanese Whisky Review , Whisky Network Review

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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