Kanosuke, a rising star in Japanese whisky backed by Diageo, has officially launched its core range and a limited edition expression in the UK. Based in the scenic southern coastal region of Kagoshima, Kanosuke is part of Komaso Jyozo, a family-run business that also operates a shochu distillery.

The new range includes three distinct expressions: Kanosuke Japanese Single Malt, Kanosuke Hioki Japanese Pot Still Grain Whisky, and a limited edition Kanosuke Single Malt 2023 (59% ABV).

Yoshitsugu Komasa, the visionary behind Kanosuke Distillery, refined his whisky-making skills in both Scotland and the US before founding the distillery in 2017, naming it in honor of his grandfather, Kanosuke Komasa, a pioneering figure in Japan’s distilling history. His grandfather, a second-generation distiller, made history in 1957 by producing Japan’s first aged rice shochu.

By 2021, Yoshitsugu handed the reins of the Hioki Distillery to his younger brother, Norihisa Komasa, to focus exclusively on whisky production at Kanosuke. What sets this distillery apart is its use of three pot stills (instead of the traditional two), allowing for a broader range of flavors and a unique complexity in the whiskies produced.

The distillery’s location along Fukiagehama Beach provides an ideal climate for whisky maturation, with warm summers and cool, breezy winters contributing to the deep, mellow flavors found in Kanosuke’s whiskies within just four years.

Kanosuke’s flagship single malt (48% ABV) is matured in a mix of ex-shochu, ex-Sherry, and American white oak casks, and includes a small portion of peated malt. The whisky exudes aromas of banana, salted caramel, and cinnamon sugar, with a palate rich in candied quince, ginger, orange peel, and honey.

The Hioki expression (51% ABV) draws inspiration from traditional Irish pot still whiskey, using both malted and unmalted barley. Distilled at the Hioki Distillery by Norihisa Komasa, it is crafted using a stainless-steel pot still and vacuum distillation—an uncommon method in whisky production but a staple in shochu-making. This whisky offers a nose of fresh-cut wood, stone fruit, and citrus, with flavors of vanilla, orange marmalade, and almonds.

One of the standout releases is the Double Distillery bottling, which combines single malt from Kanosuke with pot still whisky from Hioki. This expression, created by the Komasa brothers in honor of their grandfather, is a blend of 100% barley whiskies, distilled using Kanosuke’s three Miyake copper pot stills and Hioki’s stainless steel pot stills. At 53% ABV, this whisky boasts floral aromas with hints of stone fruit and lemongrass, while the palate delivers notes of black tea, clove, orange peel, and raspberries.

“We are extremely proud to introduce Kanosuke Distillery’s whiskies to UK whisky enthusiasts,” said Yoshitsugu Komasa, founder, master blender, and CEO of Kanosuke Distillery. “Our whiskies reflect the rich heritage and innovative spirit of our family’s shochu-making tradition. We are thrilled to share these innovative expressions with the UK and further the growth of Japanese craft whisky.”

The Hioki Pot Still Grain Whisky has an average age of three years, while both the single malt and Double Distillery blend range between three and five years old. Kanosuke’s whiskies are not only available in the UK and Japan but are also sold across the US, France, Germany, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macao, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Australia.