Review: Kanosuke Double Distillery Japanese Whisky

Sample bottle provided by Kanosuke.

AT A GLANCE

• Owned by: Komasa Jyozo

  Distilled by: Kanosuke Distillery & Hiokio Distillery, Hioki, Japan

• Blended and Bottled by: Kanosuke Distillery

• Spirit Type: Blended Japanese Whisky

• Mash Bill: Malted and Unmalted Balrey

• Still Type: Vacuum & non-vacumm Pot Stills

• Age: NAS (3-5 years)

• Strength: 53% ABV

• Price: $120

Kanosuke Double Distillery Japanese Blended Whisky is the merging of malt and grain whiskies made by the Komasa family at their sister distilleries. The Kanosuke distillery is home to their single malt production while their grain whisky comes from their Hioki distillery, which is about a 10 minute drive down the road. Both distilleries are situated on what is known as Kagoshima's mellow coast. The name refers more the laid back are relaxed character of the region but the weather goes through some dramatic temperature changes throughout the year which aids the whisky's movement in and out of the barrels. The distilleries are situated in a subtropical climate with hot and humid summers and mild winters which are tempered by their proximity to the East China Sea. Between the two distilleries they have 10 pot stills and age their whiskies in five different barrels which gives them a very broad pallet of flavors to draw from to create each expression. For their Double Distillery whisky, they do not specify a mixture of certain barrels so it is fair to assume they are blending for a particular flavor profile rather than a percentage of each barrel type.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: On the nose you notice distinct elements of the constituent whiskies. There is the creamy maltiness and stone fruit elements from the single malt and there are the spicy almost citrus elements coming from the pot still whisky. Both elements layer together nicely.

Palate: The whisky is busting on the palate with flavors of stone fruit, lemon, creamy biscuits, vanilla wafers, toasted oak, hazelnut and there is a distinct, yet subtle peat note that supports the rest of the flavors.

Finish: The finish has an intense drying sensation that calls you back for another sip. The flavor of the whisky lingers for a long time on notes of ripe plum, vanilla, oak, and a light hint of spice from the unmalted barley.

Conclusion: Blended whiskies are sometimes looked down upon as only being fit for highballs or mixing. But Kanosuke's Double Distillery Japanese Whisky is an excellent example of how in the right hands the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. This blend finds all the best elements for both the Kanosuke Single Malt and the Hioki Pot Still and merges them seamlessly into a new singular whole. The whiskey shows great character and maturity and justifies its $120 suggested retail price. This is a great spirit and it is a definite buy for any fan of Japanese whisky.

Review: Kanosuke Hioki Pot Still Japanese Whisky

Sample bottle provided by Kanosuke.

AT A GLANCE

• Owned by: Komasa Jyozo

  Distilled & Bottled by: Hioki Distillery, Hioki, Japan

• Spirit Type: Pot Still Japanese Whisky

• Mash Bill: Malted and Unmalted Balrey

• Still Type: Vacuum Pot Stills

• Age: NAS (3-5 years)

• Strength: 51% ABV

• Price: $110

The Hioki distillery is owned by the Komasa family who have been making mugi (barley) shochu since 1883. Today, the distillery has seven stainless steel vacuum pot still which the use for making shochus from barley, sweet potatoes, and rice, as well as a grain whisky made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley. According to the distillery, the wash is fermented for 5 days and reaches 14% ABV, about double compared to their malt wash at Kanosuke. They then double distill the wash using their vacuum stills which they believe allows them to extract more flavor from the grain without as many harsh alcohols and congeners. After distillation, the spirit is aged for a minimum of three years in a combination of new American oak barrels and ex-bourbon barrels. Some of this grain whiskey is then bottled, non-chill filtered at 51% ABV for their Hioki Pot Still Japanese Whisky and some is used to make their Kanosuke blended whisky.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The whisky has a distinct floral aroma like fresh cut flowers combined with a touch of oak. As the whisky opens sweeter notes of cooked grain and vanilla come to great you.

Palate: The whisky has the distinct flavor of un-malted barley that comes through on the first sip. There is a bright almost sour element that combines with an underlying creaminess almost like buttermilk biscuits and lemon zest. There is also a touch of spiciness that is common with unmalted barley that is more subtle than the spiciness found in rye.

Finish: The finish is light with a warming sensation on the lips and chest from the alcohol but there is also a vanilla sweetness from the oak that floats in the background.

Conclusion: Hioki Post Still Japanese Whisky is an interesting spirit worth sampling however, if you are unfamiliar with other pot still whiskies you may find this a bit unusual. Neat and at room temperature the whisky is good but the sweetness of the whisky really opens with just a splash or water or over a large ice cube. I think this whisky would also work nicely in an Old Fashioned. Here again like with the Kanosuke Single Malt, I think the Hioki Pot Still will show better after more time in the barrel and the underlying qualities of the spirit are allowed to mature. Right now, $110 feels a bit steep but if you told me that they would have an 8 year old version at the same price and a bit more complexity then we are in the ballpark for a full-throated indorsement. Kanosuke is showing incredible potential and if you want to see them survive long enough to produce fantastic whisky there is plenty enough to enjoy now.

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.