Bottle Stats

• Produced by Kanosuke Distillery
• Selected and imported by The Thompson Bros
• Japanese single malt whisky
• Distilled in 2018, bottled in 2022
• 4 years old
• ABV is 58%
• Single cask #20463
• 1 of 243 bottles (120 for UK, 120 for Japan)
• Recharred ex-shōchū cask maturation, finished in ex-bourbon
• Cask selection was blind
• First bottling of Kanosuke released to the UK market

Distillery Key Facts

• Kanosuke Distillery began operations in the summer of 2017, and their first whisky was released in June 2021
• Located in Kagoshima Prefecture on the southern coast of Kyushu, the southernmost of the 4 major islands of Japan
• Distillery founder, Yoshitsugu Komasa, is a 4th-generation shōchū maker, specialising in oak-matured shōchū
• Parent company Komasa Jyozo is a producer of shōchū (a distilled spirit) since 1883
• Diageo acquired a minority investor stake in the company in September 2021
• 6,000 litre mash tun
• 10 stainless steel washbacks
• 3 pot stills (6,000, 3,000, and 1,600 litre capacities), each with different neck shapes and lyne arm angles
• Worm tub condensors (interestingly, shōchū production also uses worm tubs)
• The climate is temperate and humid, with mild winters and hot, rainy summers

Why Kanosuke?

The Thompson Bros have been releasing incredible whiskies (and rums, gins, etc.) for several years now. Lately, the vast majority of whisky that I've been buying has come from them. As a whisky geek, I appreciate the level of transparency and outright nerdiness the folks in Dornoch have been practicing. They're a team that I've come to trust, and I really like what they're up to, both with their independent bottlings and with their own distillations.

When the Thompson Bros announced this bottling of Kanosuke in early 2023, I hadn't heard of Kanosuke Distillery. Recently, though, I'd had some wonderful experiences with Chichibu single malt, and I was intrigued by what Vhairi Mackay (of the Dornoch/TB team) wrote in the announcement. I managed to win the ballot on their website, and I happily purchased a bottle of the TB Kanosuke. Not long afterward, I was also lucky enough to come across a highly sought-after Adelphi Chichibu 7yr.

Suddenly in possession of two rare, enthusiast-targeted Japanese whiskies, I decided that I wanted to share them side-by-side in a communal setting with other whisky enthusiasts. This became the foundation of my “Pacific Rim” tasting.

The only problem with this notion is that I couldn't taste the Kanosuke because I needed to keep the bottle sealed until closer to the date of my future tasting. Thankfully, I was finally able to enjoy a wee dram of this TB Kanosuke expression in late October 2023 at the Dornoch Whisky Festival as part of a warehouse tasting hosted by Dornoch team members, Jack Lowrie and Euan Christie. This young Japanese whisky really exceeded my expectations! The flavour profile is quite different from any other single malt that I've tried, and the viscosity is sublime. I'll save my specific tasting notes for the actual tasting, after folks have had a chance to draw their own conclusions.

I'm exceedingly happy to share this Kanosuke with fellow whisky enthusiasts for cost price, rather than letting it fall victim to flippers, auction sites, and collectors of pretty objects. Let's enjoy it! We'll probably never see this particular expression again.

Distillery Location

Hioki, Kagoshima, Japan

Gallery