Review: Kanosuke Single Malt Japanese Whisky

Sample bottle provided by Kanosuke

AT A GLANCE

• Owned by: Komasa Jyozo

  Distilled & Bottled by: Kanosuke Distillery, Hioki, Japan

• Spirit Type: Japanese Single Malt Whisky

• Mash Bill: 10% Japanese Malted Barley, 90% Malted Barley from UK & Australia

• Still Type: Pot Stills

• Age: NAS (3-5 years)

• Strength: 48% ABV

• Price: $100

Yoshitsugu Komasa founded Kanosuke Distillery in 2014 and it opened in 2017. The distillery is named after Komasa's grandfather Kanosuke Komasa. Komasa comes from a family of shochu distillers who have been making single distilled mugi (barley) shochu since 1883. Before founding Kanosuke, Komasa earned a Master's degrees in brewing from Tokyo University's Graduate School and served as a General Manager at the family business, Komasa Jyozo. Later, Komasa studies whisky making in Scotland and the United States. Kanosuke Distillery uses three copper pot still with three different lyne arm angles to create different spirit profiles before it is aged for a minimum of three years.

For the Kanosuke Japanese Single Malt Whisky, Komasa blends whiskies that were distilled on each of their three pot stills and aged in a selection of re-charred ex-shochu casks, ex-sherry butts and ex-bourbon barrels. And, according Komasa, some of these whiskies contain a very small portion of peated malted for added depth.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The Nose is bright and inviting with notes of cereal grains, American biscuits with honey, and fresh sliced peach.

Palate: On the palate sweet nectarine and peach comes through right away followed by a touch of dry oak and a bit of maltiness.

Finish: The finish is light with lingering notes of malt and sweet stone fruit and just a touch of oak.

Conclusion: Kanosuke Single Malt Whisky is a very tasty dram that will excite those who like more malt forward whiskies that are not dominated by sherry or peat. For me, an $100 MSRP is a bit steep for a 3 to 5 year old malt but starting up a new distillery is also not a cheap endeavor. At 48% ABV the whisky has a nice presence in the glass that will mix well with water in a highball while being soft enough to enjoy neat. This is the first new Japanese whisky that I think really lives up to all the excitement that people had for Yamazaki when it exploded in popularity several years ago. And while it is not complex as that, I'm sure it will continue to develop more the longer it is allowed to age.

Review: Jaywalk Bonded Straight Rye Whiskey

Sample bottle provided by New York Distilling Company

AT A GLANCE

• Owned, Distilled and Bottled by: New York Distilling Company

• Spirit Type: Bottled in Bond Rye Whiskey

• Mash Bill: 75% New York Rye (both Horton rye and Pedersen Field Race rye), 13% New York Corn, 12% Malted Barley

• Still Type: Hybrid Pot Still

• Age: NAS (7 Years)

• Strength: 50% ABV

• Price: $55

Allen Katz and Tom Potter founded New York Distilling Company in 2011 with vision to revive the long history of distilling in Brooklyn that stretches back to the 1700. Like many other New York distillers, Katz and Potter source locally grown grains for their whiskeys and even worked with Cornell University’s College of Agriculture to breathe new life into an almost extinct variety of heirloom rye.

 Jaywalk is made from a fermented mash of 75% New York rye, 13% New York corn and 12% malted barley. The rye is a combination of their Pedersen Field Race rye, a unique hybrid they developed with Farmer Rick Pedersen up in Seneca Falls and the Horton rye they revitalize with Cornell. The mash is distilled in their hybrid-pot sill and aged in new charred oak barrels for seven years before the whiskey makes its way into the bottle. Because this is bottled in bond it means that all the whiskey in the bottle was distilled in the same season (Jan-June, or July-Dec) and bottled at 50% ABV.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: On the nose there is a strong aroma of rye spice and oak followed by hints of vanilla, earth, and blackberries.

Palate: On the palate the whiskey is bold and spicy with notes of cinnamon, and clove, with a faint note of black licorice on the end the melds with an underlying fruitiness.

Finish: The finish begins warm from the alcohol and quickly transitions to flavors of blackberries, and plums and a note of coco powder.

Conclusion: The Jaywalk Bonded Straight Rye punches above its weight when it comes to flavor and for those who are fans of higher proof more complex whiskeys should give this a try. On the palate the alcohol is squarely in line at 100 proof and there is so much flavor, I struggle to imagine what the cask strength versions must be like. $55 for this 7-year-old bottled in bond rye form a craft distiller in New York is an incredible deal and is a good sign that as craft distilleries mature, they can continue to be competitive on both age statements and price with the heritage distillers. If you like your whiskeys to pack a big flavor punch, enjoy this neat, otherwise it will do well on the rocks, with a splash of water, and makes a great Manhattan.

Review: Kentucky Peerless Small Batch Straight Bourbon

Sample bottle provided by Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co.

AT A GLANCE

• Owned, Distilled and Bottled by: Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. Louisville, KY

• Mash Bill: Aproximatly 65-81% Corn, 10-20% Rye, 9-15% Malted Barley

• Still Type: Column Still with pot doubler

• Age: NAS (minimum 4 years old)

• Spirit Type:

• Strength: 53.55% ABV (Barrel Proof)

• Price: $79

Sometime in the early 1880s Kentucky Peerless Distilling Company was born out of the old Worsham Distilling Company in Henderson, KY. From 1889 to 1920 Peerless was overseen by Henry Kraver a pharmacist turned distiller. Fast Forward to 2014, Kraver's great-grandson Corky Taylor and his son, Carson Taylor revived the Peerless name, built a new distillery in Louisville, and reclaimed Peerless' old plant number DSP-KY-50. The distillery has six larger fermenters and a 26 foot (8m) column still that produces their new make. Peerless used two bourbon mash bills and a rye whiskey mash for all of their whiskeys. They each start off as a sweet mash (no backset added) which they say allows them to distill their whiskeys to a lower proof. The spirit then aged exclusivly in full size 53 gallon charred new oak barrels for a minimum of four years before being bottling at cask strength. Part of the Peerless promise is that their whiskeys are never chill-filtered and they never add water.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The nose is an intense and inviting mixture of warm oak, baking spices, apple sauce.

Palate: At over 107 proof the whiskey is hot which is not too surprising. After the heat subsides, there are big flavors of cinnamon, clove, apple sauce, oak, and just a touch of vanilla sweetness.

Finish: On the finsh the oak flavor is stronger followed by notes of dry tobacco, vanilla and apple juice.

Conclusion: Peerless true to form is a big whiskey with lots of flavor. The bourbon has a nice apple fruit flavor and is neithertoo sweet or over oaked. If you enjoy powerful whiskeys, be sure to look for this. Or if you like the idea of an apple and oak forward bourbon without the heat, add a bit of water to your glass and you will have more to enjoy.

Review: WhistlePig Old World Rye Whiskey

Sample bottle provided by WhistlePig

AT A GLANCE

• Owned by: WhistlePig and Moët Hennessy

• Distilled by: Ross & Squibb (formerly MGP), Lawrenceburg, IN

• Blended by: WhistlePig, Shoreham, VT

• Spirit Type: Rye Whiskey

• Mash Bill: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley

• Still Type: Column Still

• Age: 12 Years

• Strength: 43% ABV

• Price: $160

Between 2007 and 2008, Raj Peter Bhakta founded WhistlePig and purchased 5,000 gallons of extra-aged Canadian rye whiskey from Alberta Distillers. The barrels were stored on a farm Bhakta purchased in Shoreham, VT and successfully launched their flagship expression, a 10-year-old 100% rye whiskey in 2010. Four years later, WhistlePig faced a class-action law suit claiming that it deceived its customers by not clearly stating on its label or website that the whiskey was distilled in Canada, however this suit was voluntarily dismissed in 2016. It was also around 2014 when Master Distiller Dave Pickerell helped WhistlePig source 12-year-old barrels or MGP's 95% rye whiskey and then finished it several Sauternes, Madeira, and Port casks. The result of which became their Old World Rye. Then in 2015, WhistlePig began the process of converting the 100-year-old barn on its Vermont estate into a distillery and two years later they released their first edition of WhistlePig Farmstock which was a blend of their 1-year-old rye, with 5-year-old Aberta rye, and 12-year-old MGP rye. Until their Vermont distilled rye gets much older it is likely WhistlePig will continue to source and blend from multiple sources including their own. Lastly, in 2019, WhistlePig sold a minority stake to a Chicago based investment firm which allowed Bhakta to fully exit the company. And in 2020, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy purchased a minority stake in the WhistlePig which gave Moët Hennessy rights to distribute the brand outside the US.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The nose is super bright and fruity with an underling layer of fennel and warm oak spice. The fruit is an intriguing mix of apple, pear, peach, blackberries, and raspberries.

Palate: On the palate there are notes of honey covered slices of peach, mixed with stronger oak and caramel flavors followed by a light note of fennel as the whiskey moves to the back of the palate.

Finish: The whiskey has a medium long finish with notes of oak and bright ripe plum.

Conclusion: Despite its 12-year age statement WhistlePig's Old World Rye is incredibly youthful and vibrant. And even with the variety of finishing barrels used the whiskey is not overly sweet and does a good job of melding into a single complex flavor rather than several distinct parts. This is definitely a sipping whiskey and as the question of whether it is worth $160 that depends on you, but I would say if you have the chance to try it at a bar, do so.

Distilling Outside the Box: How Malted Rye effects the flavor of Rye Whiskey

If you were to ask a fan of American whiskey to describe the flavor of rye whiskey the first and maybe only descriptor would be spicy. This singular description is largely due to the dominance of both the Kentucky style ryes (51% rye) and the Ross & Squib (MGP) style ryes (95% rye) both of which only use un-malted or raw rye grain. So, if you are only used to drinking these ryes, your first exposure to malted rye in whiskey may not be a pleasant one because the flavors can be so different and outside of the norm for those styles. In general, distillers that use malted rye in their mash will have some grassy, herbal, and sometimes bready notes in their whiskey. In my experience if you are prepared for this, it is easier to actually enjoy the whiskey for what it is. Malted rye opens another dimension of complexity that ryes that only use raw grain can never achieve. So, if you would like to taste how malted rye impacts the flavor of the whiskey, below are four that I highly recommend exploring.

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Sample bottle provided by Mountain Laurel Spirits

Mountain Laurel Spirits

Dad’s Hat Pensylvania Straight Rye Whiskey 47.5% ABV, MSRP $50

Herman Mihalich and John Cooper founded Mountain Laurel Spirits in 2011 with the singular goal of making Pennsylvania rye whiskey. Mihalich and Cooper named the brand in memory of Mihalich’s dad who always wore a hat when he left the house and particularly like Stetson fedoras made in Philadelphia. Dad’s Hat has earned a lot of attention for their whiskeys and in 2015, Whiskey Advocate named their Classic Rye its Craft Whiskey of the Year.

They source much of their grain from local farmers and their mash includes a mixture of 80% rye, 15% malted barley, and 5% malted rye. After fermentation, they double distilled the mash and mature the spirit in charred new oak barrels. Their straight rye is aged for a minimum of four years and bottled at 47.5% ABV.

The whiskey has an inviting aroma of fresh baked rye bread, molasses, a light grassy note from the malted rye, and just a hint of licorice. On the palate similar flavors carry over onto the tongue with notes of toasted rye bread spread with a thin layer of salted butter, followed by tobacco, dried peach, cherry, a hint of caramel and a pleasant grassy character. The whiskey has a long and warm finish that lingers with notes of fennel, rye, dried mint, and stone fruit. Dad's Hat Straight Rye is a delicious whiskey that is a great example of both Pennsylvania rye and judicious use of malted rye which adds a lot of complexity.

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Sample bottle provided by Coppersea Distilling

Coppersea Distilling

Bonticou Crag Straight Rye Malt Whisky Bottled in Bond 50% ABV, MSRP $118

Michael Kinstlick and Angus MacDonald founded Coppersea Distilling in 2012 with the vision of creating whiskeys as they were in the 18th and 19th Centuries before industrialization. MacDonald has since passed away but their distiller Christopher Williams carries on this ethos. He developed a system of floor malting their own grain, which in the 21st Century was almost a completely lost art. They even source their barrels from a local cooper who makes them from New York oak.

Coppersea works with local farmers to grow their grains, and Williams floor malts the rye before it is fermented and double distilled in direct fire copper pots stills. The spirit is then aged in new charred oak barrels for a minimum of four years and bottled at 50% ABV.

The nose is jam packed full of aromas of stone fruit, caramel brittle, vanilla, live oak, and fresh cut grass. On the palate there are flavors of fennel, salted caramel, vanilla, raisins, sweet cherries, dried pineapple, peaches and cream, maple syrup and sassafras, followed by a pronounced dryness from the oak tannins. Bonticou Crag is a beautiful voyage of flavor that deserves to be sipped neat or opened with just a splash of water. If you are a fan of complex whiskeys this is a must.

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Sample bottle provided by Mingo Creek Craft Distillers

Liberty Pole Spirits

Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey 46% ABV, MSRP $47

Jim Hough and his wife Ellen founded Mingo Creek Craft Distillers in May 2016, and their son Kevin joined them a few months later working as the head distiller. The distillery gets its name from the Mingo Creek Society that gathered in 1794 to protest the first whiskey excised tax enacted by the US Government. One of their forms of protest were to plant liberty polls which were simple polls tied three strips of cloth that read No Excise Tax.

In their memory, the Hough’s make several whiskeys including two standard ryes which are both distilled from a mash of 61% rye, 13% red winter wheat, 13% malted rye, and 13% six-row distiller’s malt. Their Pennsylvania straight rye is double distilled, and aged in 53 gallon charred new oak barrels for a minimum of two years.

The whiskey has a lovely nose of warm rye bread, fennel, mint, green apple, and caramel. The first sip is very warm on the palate, but it gets softer with each successive drink. There are flavors of oak intermixed with strong rye bread flavors, softened with a touch of honey orange blossom. The finish is bright and lively with notes of menthol, fresh cherries and freshly made lemonade followed by a healthy dose of brown sugar. This is a very tasty rye whiskey with lots of rye character mixed with sweeter fruit notes that are well-balanced with oak. Liberty Pole rye is a must try.

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Sample bottle provided by Disobedient Spirits

Disobedient Spirits

1794 Rye Whiskey 45% ABV, MRSP $60

In 2012, Bob Begg a recently retired teacher from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his friend and fellow winemaker Bob Sechrist founded Disobedient Spirits. They began building their distillery the following year and opened to the public in December 2014. Today they produce a wide variety of spirits including several vodkas, gin, rum, brandy, and a few different whiskeys.

Their rye whiskey is distilled from a mash of rye grown in the Monongahela valley, along with malted rye, corn, and chocolate malted barley, and then aged for just three months in small barrels.

The aroma is savory with strong notes of rye grain, wasabi paste, oak leaves, and hint of molasses. On the palate the whiskey has strong grassy flavors from the malted rye mixed with pleasant notes of milk chocolate, that is like drinking a warm cup of hot coco in a pine forest, or enjoying a mug or Mexican chocolate with cinnamon. The finish is light with a bright mint chocolate flavor, and dry oak. At just 3 months old the whiskey is grain forward and Disobedient has done an excellent job with it. And if the idea of cinnamon chocolate in your whiskey without any artificial flavors or sweetness excites you, look for it.