One of the many interesting things that this recent - by which I mean the last 10 years or so - whisky boom has brought along to the Japanese whisky scene is the more creative use of casks. 

For its Scotch brethren this had been a major limiting factor up until 2019 when the rules were relaxed to allow a wider array of casks to be used for maturing Scotch whiskies - most notably we quickly saw the use of Mezcal and Tequila casks used.

The Irish folks have taken advantage of this obstacle facing Scotch distilleries for quite a while now - Midleton even has a brand Method and Madness that focuses quite heavily on creative types of wood used - French Chestnut, French Limousin, Mulberry, Acacia; you name it.

Australia is home to globally recognised wine vineyards and so have become a focal point for cask experiments in the Aussie whisky scene. (Image Source: Telegraph)

And then over in Australia, the focus has largely been turned towards locality and harnessing unique casks that are available domestically, namely wine and Apera casks. After all Australia is home to a vibrant wine industry which itself has made quite the name for itself globally.

And yet, Japan has largely stayed with the same usual suspects - wine casks (as some Japanese whiskymakers are also owners of wine vineyards), Sherry casks, bourbon casks, and of course the Japanese specialty Mizunara casks. Beyond that, there's not too much exploration going on. Previously before the new Japanese whisky rules, more interesting types of wood were not disallowed if you catch my drift, and there wasn't really any penalties either way. The new updated rules, in tandem with Scotch regulations, do actively permit a broader range of casks. But let's face it, that wasn't really the main thing stopping Japanese whiskymakers.

Japan's casks experiments has pretty much been Mizunara or Japanese Oak. (Image Source: Robb Report)

As I've mentioned ad nauseam, why should there be any creativity when two whiskymakers pretty much dominate the scene. To add to that, Suntory and Nikka have preferred to focus on other aspects, such as their blending prowess, yeast strains, and the such. Using casks as a way to flavor whiskies haven't really been a thing in Japan.

In fact, core to Japanese whiskymaking is really the art of blending, and I use the word "art" quite sparingly as I am aware of how fluffy that sounds. But there's in fact a belief in Japan that whiskies shouldn't even be bottled as single casks which are seen as unbalanced and one dimensional. The horror for the Scotch industry. Japanese whiskymakers if they could, and financial considerations were non-existent, would very much prefer to create blends that they believe offer more complexity and nuance. It's a cultural thing. It's why you see so many world blends, that they are seemingly quite proud of. It's not just marketing fluff, they really do revere the ability to create great blends.

Kanosuke Distillery is part of a new breed of whiskymakers who are more open to moving fast and breaking things. (Image Source: Whisky Saga)

And yet as I mentioned, the recent whisky wave has resulted in many bonafide craft distillers coming to life all over Japan - these aren't whimsical distilleries who haven't a clue (some inevitably are, of course), but there are a sizeable handful that have fashioned themselves to be veritable competitors.

And for these new craft distillers, they represent a more modern breed, exposed to a more worldly view, more hungry to make a mark, and as such are armed with more willingness to engage in guerrilla tactics. They're willing to test new types of pot stills, more untested casks, swap whisky stocks even. They're a very interesting strain.

Ariake Sangyo is the quiet supplier of Japan's new wave of whiskymaker's cask experiments. (Image Source: Whiskies R Us)

At this point, it might be worth talking about Ariake Sangyo, Japan's sole independent cooperage - they're the folks supplying all that hotly demanded Mizunara casks. More recently they've worked with whiskymakers, particularly newer ones, to produce a wider range of casks - Sugi (Japanese Cedar), Kuri (Japanese Chestnut), Hinoki (Japanese Cypress), and Sakura, just to name a few. As the saying goes, where there's a buyer, there's a seller, and with this new wave, there sure are alot of buyers, and Ariake Sangyo is best place to sell it to them.

In the past demand was limited to a few major players who also largely utilised their own in-house cooperages, but with the new wave, Ariake Sangyo is who you want to keep an eye out when it comes to cask innovation in Japan.

Which brings me to today's dram in hand - Kanosuke's Distillery Exclusive #005 which is the first time the Japanese distillery is employing the use of Cognac casks for finishings.

This spent 33 months in a conventional Bourbon barrel, before ageing for another 14 months in a Cognac cask.

These Distillery Exclusives which are little experiments from Kanosuke are pretty hot stuff given that the inaugural edition #001 which featured a W-IPA Cask Finish took home top honours at the 2022 World Whiskies Awards, bagging a win for "Single Malt NAS - Japan". 

Kanosuke Distillery Exclusive #005 - Bourbon x Cognac Cask, 2018, 55% ABV - Review

Color: Deep Honey

Aroma: Bright and aromatic, with big notes of citrusy grapefruit, green and red grapes super ripe and vibrant, and then onto light touches of honey with dried apricots, mangos and black pepper. The most prominent note is that of green grapes - absolutely fresh and plump.

Taste: Medium-bodied with a fairly standard viscosity. Initially what strikes out first is the acidity that tingles - somewhere in between grapefruit zest and a sort of numbing sensation like Szechuan peppercorns (or ma la as it is known in Asia), but that's all to do with its texture, which is really something in and of itself.

Flavorwise this is giving lots of fresh red grape, again super ripe and plump, as if you were eating it from the vine. It continues onto a light touch of honey and straw but really more on grape skin tannins.

Finish: Clean, crisp, quite short. Light touches of honey water. 

My Thoughts

This was quite singular in profile - bright, fresh ripened grapes - obviously the work of the Cognac cask. The distillate was more the canvas here for the Cognac finish and didn't really show much of itself, but what can you do - it's a pretty young whisky.

It doesn't pack much in complexity but it was nonetheless enjoyable and interesting. The freshness and distinct grape flavors were pretty hard to dislike.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot