Kanosuke 2021 First Edition

Kanosuke 2021 First Edition is the inaugural annual release from Kanosuke, a coastal Kagoshima distillery opened in 2017 by shochu producer Komasa. Bottled in 2021 at 3 years of age and cask strength, it marks the distillery's first broadly released aged single malt and represents a significant moment in Kanosuke's short history.

The expression was matured in oak casks with Ex-Bourbon at the core, and the flavour profile shows the yeasty vitality and citrus brightness of a young spirit that has not yet fully settled into wood influence. That energy is part of the character: the First Edition is an honest statement of Kanosuke's new make at the point where the coastal warmth has begun to integrate the wood notes but the distillate's own freshness still carries through. At 58% cask strength it is direct and lively, a foundational reference point for the distillery's development.