Kanosuke 4 Years Old 2018 (Ex-Bourbon)

Kanosuke 4 Years Old 2018 (Ex-Bourbon) is a single malt distilled at Kanosuke in 2018 and bottled in 2022 at cask strength for the Japanese market. It comes from the same 2018 distillation year as several other expressions in the distillery's portfolio, but the use of second fill bourbon casks distinguishes its maturation character from the first fill releases.

Second fill bourbon wood offers a gentler, more restrained influence than first fill, allowing more of the Kanosuke new make's inherent character to come through: the soft tropical fruit, light florals and clean grain notes typical of the triple pot still distillate. The Kagoshima coastal climate still drives active maturation even in used wood, and at 57% the cask strength bottling delivers the full texture of that relatively lighter, fruit-forward profile. No individual tasting notes were provided for this specific cask.