Kanosuke Single Malt 2023 Limited Edition 59% 700ml

The distillery is named after Kanosuke Komasa, the second generation company president who created ‘Mellowed Kozuru’, the rice shochu Komasa Jyozo is known for. It’s a type of shochu matured in oak barrels, which at the time was a pioneering method. Unique even.

Yoshitsugu Komasa, the current CEO and master blender, but also fourth generation of the Komasa family, spent years trying to sell Mellowed Kozuru abroad, but never succeeded. That’s what ultimately led to the decision to start making whisky, a category more accepted and well-known globally.

Kanosuke Distillery is not huge, but still a serious operation with ten washbacks of 7,000 litres each, as well three stills of different sizes and with different lyne arm angles. Interestingly, they use indoor worm tubs to condense the spirit. It’s a rarity for Japan, according to the Japanese Whisky Yearbook. This technique is also used on Komasa Jyoza’s shochu stills.