[Review] Kanosuke HIOKI POT STILL – Characteristics, taste, list price, where can I buy it?

Whisky Review
Whisky Review
Kanosuke Distillery

Japanese whiskey “Kanosuke HIOKI POT STILL”, a standard product from the Hioki Distillery of the Komasa Kanosuke Distillery, will go on sale December 1. Features, price, and purchase site.

Following “Single Malt Kanosuke,” “Kanosuke HIOKI POT STILL,” which will become a standard product, is now on sale.

It is distilled at the distillery in Hioki, Japan, using a new type of Japanese pot still inspired by Irish pot stills. This is a new form of Japanese whiskey from the Yoshinosuke Komasa Distillery. The suggested retail price is 12,100 yen (tax included).

スポンサーリンク

What is Komasa Kanosuke Distillery?

3-1. Manufacturer

Yoshinosuke Komasa Distillery Co.

Establishment August 2021
Head office 845-3 Gannokawa, Hiyoshi-cho, Hioki-shi, Kagoshima 899-2421
Owned distillery Kanosuke Distillery

3-2. Kanosuke Distillery

Kanosuke Distillery

Location 845-3 Gannokawa, Hiyoshi-cho, Hioki-shi, Kagoshima 899-2421
Start of operation 2017 (the first year of operation)

The Kanosuke Distillery stands on a 9,000 m2 site along Fukiage Beach on the west coast of Kagoshima Prefecture.
The U-shaped, two-story main building houses distilling facilities, a bar with a great view, and a store selling original goods.

The main feature of the distillery is that it is equipped with three pot stills (large, medium, and small). Each has a capacity of 6,000 liters, 3,000 liters, and 1,600 liters, respectively.
Craft distilleries (small distilleries) around the world generally have two stills. Whiskey is usually distilled twice, and by using pot stills with different shapes of necks and angles of line arms at the top during the second distillation (redistillation), the aroma and flavor of the original whiskey can be more richly changed.

Fukiage beach, where the distillery is located, is one of the “Three Great Sand Dunes of Japan” and has been selected as one of the “100 Best Sandy Beaches in Japan. The beach stretches about 47 km from north to south, and strong winds blow in from the sea. It is hot in the summer and cold in the winter, with temperatures near zero degrees Celsius, and snow flurries are not uncommon.

3-3. Hioki Distillery

Hioki Distillery

Location 3309 Hioki, Hiyoshi-cho, Hioki-shi, Kagoshima 899-3101
Start of operation 1883

Originally started out making sake for the Hioki-Hachiman Shrine and distilling authentic shochu. Today, the company manufactures and sells liqueurs, spirits, and whiskey. Its representative brand is the “Kozuru” series of potato shochu.

Among them, “Mellow Kozuru” has its own unique manufacturing process and proprietary know-how, such as being recharged and used in single malt Kanosuke.

The distiller is a stainless steel straight vertical distiller used for shochu.

Image Exhibit: Kanosuke Distillery Official HP

The whiskey produced at Hioki is “grain whiskey,” but it differs from the continuous distillation process normally used for grain whiskey.

At Hioki, whisky is distilled under reduced pressure in a single-stage distiller, which keeps the distillation rate low. This results in a strong whiskey that retains the flavor derived from the ingredients.

This is truly a “Japanese pot still” unique to the Komasa Shuzo brewery, which has a long history of shochu production.

3. photo of the bottle and the website where it can be purchased

KANOSUKE HIOKI POT STILL JAPANESE WHISKY
KANOSUKE HIOKI POT STILL JAPANESE WHISKY

4. features of the Kanosuke HIOKI POT STILL

The Hioki distillery is the original shochu distillery that produced Komasa Shuzo’s signature product, the Kotsuru series, and Komasa Gin was also made at the Hioki distillery.2 Following the Kanosuke distillery, the Hioki warehouse will obtain a whiskey production license in 2020 and begin producing grain whiskey, and this will be its first release. This is the first release.

Kanosuke HIOKI POT STILL is made from barley and malt at the Hioki distillery, saccharified and fermented in a unique process, carefully distilled in a single distiller, and stored in new American white oak and bourbon barrels at the Kanosuke distillery.

Please enjoy this powerful yet gentle new Japanese whiskey, which was nurtured in Hioki, “a place where you can see the sunset as if the sun had been set.

TASTING NOTE

Color: Deep tortoiseshell

Aroma: Buttersand, kabosu, apricot, plum compote

Taste: Madeleine, oaky, moderately salty, marmalade, Onshu tangerine

Aftertaste: vanilla, dry ginger, gentle sweetness lingers for a long time

Reference: Kanosuke Distillery official website

4-1. Tasting Notes

Aroma Butterscotch cookie, plum, banana milkshake
Taste Florentine, dried orange, kumquat, new oak oaky
Aftertaste Sweet spices like vanilla and cinnamon, slowly exiting

4-2. Product Specifications

Alcohol content 51% (with a minimum of 2.5 percent alcohol by volume)
By Alcoholic Beverage Grain Whisky
Barrel type Bourbon barrels, new American oak barrels
Volume 700ml
Suggested retail price 12,100 yen (tax included)
Release date December 1, 2023

5. Awards

No awards have been received at this time.

6. list price and online price

6-1. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price (list price)

Product name Kanosuke HIOKI POT STILL JAPANESE WHISKY
Capacity 700ml
Suggested retail price 12,100 yen (tax included)

6-2. Resale price on Mercari

The resale price on Mercari is around16,000yen to 17,000 yen. (*As of 12/6/2023)

6-3. Yahoo Auction Sold Price

Currently there are no confirmed successful bids on Yahoo! Auctions. The lowest bidder was about 16,800 yen.

(*as of 12/6/2023)

6-4. Rakuten, Yahoo Shopping, Amazon

The price seems to be about 19,800 yen and up on mail order sites. (*As of 12/7/2023)

6-5.Prices offered at BAR Shinkai

At BAR Shinkai, which is operated by this site, one glass, 45ml: 3,630,yen 30ml: 2,420 yen, 15ml: 1,210 yen, etc. are offered in small quantities.

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7. Summary

This product is very easy to drink for its strength, and seems to be a standard product in the future. The label composition is similar to that of ” Single Malt Kanosuke. The release of this grain may lead to the release of a blended whiskey made entirely at the Komasa Kanosuke distillery in the future, and we will keep an eye on the limited edition that may be released in 2024.

Please check out our other articles on Kanosuke Distillery.

Please check out other articles about Kanosuke.

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[Revue] Single Malt Kanosuke
On utilise du malt non tourbé, avec plusieurs barils de cuvaison, l'ingrédient clé étant le vin original vieilli dans de...
この記事を書いた人
Ryuhei Oishi

Bartender at bar Shinkai Toranomon, born in Hokkaido.
After working at a restaurant in Tokyo, became a certified sommelier by the Japan Sommelier Association.
I became interested in Japanese whiskey, of which he had little knowledge, and started working at bar Shinkai. I went to distilleries to talk to the distillers and joined JWD to share their passion and information as a bartender.

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