Information on Kanosuke’s 2024 Limited Edition is released. This year’s limited edition of HIOKI POT STILL is made from HIOKI distillery’s original sake. Detailed information and more.
This year’s limited editions from the Kanosuke Distillery have been released. Last year’s single malt Kanosuke LIMITED EDITION 2023 was a peaty Kanosuke, which had never tasted better.
This new Kanosuke Limited Series release from HIOKI is a surprise. The taste is said to be distinct from the standard Kanosuke HIOKI POT STILL.
1. Kanosuke HIOKI POT STILL LIMITED EDITION 2024
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1-1. Tasting notes
“Kanosuke HIOKI POT STILL LIMITED EDITION” was created as the first limited edition derived from the standard product, “Kanosuke HIOKI POT STILL”, which was launched in December 2023.This Japanese-style pot still whisky is made from barley and malt, produced in a unique process at the Hioki Distillery and stored in the Kanosuke Distillery maturing cellar. It is batched from new American white oak barrels and bourbon barrels, as well as from original sake stored in shochu litchi barrels.Enjoy the aromas of crème brûlée and fresh oak, and the harmony of sweet and bitter notes such as vanilla and caramel sauce.[Tasting notes]
Color: Amber
Nose: Creme brulee, fresh oak, apricot and green plum.
Taste: vanilla, caramel sauce, burnt oak, cocoa, matcha.
Finish: oily, full-bodied and mildly bitter-sweet.1-2. Product specifications
| Alcohol content | 55% |
| Liquor type | Grain whisky |
| Barrel type | Shochu litchi and bourbon casks, new American white oak casks |
| Content volume | 700ml |
| RRP | 16,500 yen (tax included) |
| Release date | Mid-October 2024 |
2. About the Kanosuke Hioki Distillery
Hioki Distillery
| Location | 3309 Hioki, Hiyoshi-cho, Hioki-shi, Kagoshima 899-3101 |
| Start of operation | 1883 |
The company originally started out making sake for the Hioki Hachiman Shrine and distilling authentic shochu. Today, the company produces and sells liqueurs, spirits and whisky. Its representative brand is the Kozuru series of potato shochu.
Among them, “Mellowed Kozuru” has its own manufacturing process and unique know-how, such as being recharged and used in Single Malt Kanosuke.
The distiller is a straight vertical distiller made of stainless steel used for shochu.
Image source: official website of Kanosuke Distillery
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The whisky produced at Hioki is ‘grain whisky’, but it differs from the continuous distillers normally used for grain whisky.
In Hioki, the whisky is distilled under reduced pressure in a single distillation machine, which keeps the distillation rate low. This results in a powerful whisky with a strong flavour derived from the raw materials.
This is a true ‘Japanese pot still’, unique to the Komasa Shuzo brewery, which has long been involved in shochu production.
For past products from the Kanosuke Distillery, click here↓.
Lastly: Recommended Books on Japanese Whisky
If you want to learn more about Japanese whisky, which is a global trend, we highly recommend these books.
(1).Whisky Galore Vol.29 December 2021 issue
In the December 2021 issue of Whisky Galore, published by the Whisky Culture Research Institute, we report on 11 Japanese craft distilleries, including some that are open to the public for the first time, under the title of “Japanese Whisky Craft Frontline,” the first of three consecutive issues. Why did the popularity of Japanese whisky and the craft boom occur? We will examine with interviews. Chichibu Distillery / Chichibu No.2 Distillery / Mars Shinshu Distillery / Mars Tsunuki Distillery / Kanosuke Distillery / Hioki Distillery / Ontake Distillery / Osuzuyama Distillery / Kaikyo Distillery / Hanyu Distillery / Konosu Distillery
(2). Japanese Whisky as an Education for Business
This is a book written by Mamoru Tsuchiya, a world-famous whisky critic and representative of the Whisky Culture Research Institute, titled “Japanese Whisky as a Culture that Works for Business” .
The book covers the basics of whisky, the introduction of whisky to Japan, the birth of Japanese whisky, advertising strategies and the rise of Japanese whisky, and the current rise of craft distilleries. This is a book that summarizes Japanese whisky in a very easy to understand way.
(3). Whisky and I (Masataka Taketsuru)
Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, devoted his life to brewing whisky in Japan. This is a revised and reprinted version of the autobiography of a man who simply loved whisky and talked about himself. The book vividly depicts the days when he went to Scotland alone to study as a young man and overcame many hardships to complete Japanese whisky, as well as his companion, Rita.
(4). A Letter of Challenge from a New Generation Distillery
Launching in 2019. With the world experiencing an unprecedented whisky boom, what were the managers of craft distilleries thinking and what were their thoughts as they took on the challenge of making whisky? This book tells the stories of 13 craft distillery owners, including Ichiro Hido of Venture Whisky, famous for his Ichirose Malt, who inspired the birth of craft distilleries in Japan.
(5). Whiskey Rising
This is the Japanese version of Whisky Risng, published in the US in 2016, with much updated content. Not only does it describe the history of Japanese whisky in detail, but it also includes data on all the distilleries in Japan, including the craft distilleries that have been founded in recent years. The book also includes descriptions of the legendary bottles that have been released, as well as information on bars where Japanese whisky can be found.
