It seems that certain brands cannot be started overnight. Or can they?

The Japanese have a strong veneration for the ethos of craftsmanship. I'm talking about years of dedication that a master artisan or master distiller would devote to making the best sushi, saké or whisky. Years of devotion are good. Generations, better. It's not a requirement, but it certainly helps if you have a family legacy: one where the patriarch passes the mantle down to the eldest child (usually a son) to carry on the family name running a hundred-year-old sushi restaurant or saké brewery.   

So it seems that certain brands cannot be started overnight.

It's no surprise that some of the biggest names in Japanese whisky are Yamazaki and Nikka – started close to a hundred years ago by founders Shinjiro Torii in 1923 and Masataka Taketsuru in 1934 respectively. Even prior to starting their distilleries, Torii had been running a Western wine importer since 1899 while Taketsuru had come from a family that owned a sake brewery since the 1700s.

Learn about the stunning story of the biggest name in Japanese whisky: Yamazaki Distillery

Read all about Scottish romance and apple juice with the founder of Nikka Whisky: Nikka's Yoichi Distillery

So if a long legacy mattered so much, one might be curious why whisky lovers are going nuts over some fairly new craft distilleries in Japan. Chichibu Distillery – which leads the category – was only opened in 2008, Sakurao Distillery opened in 2017, and there's also the highly sought after Kanosuke Distillery which opened really recently in 2018.

Actually, multi-generational family legacy is at play here too. Chichibu's Ichiro Akuto came from a family that owned the now-famous Hanyu Distillery which was founded in 1941 by Isouji Akuto, himself a descendant of a long line of sake producers dating back to the 1600s. Kanosuke Distillery was founded by Yoshitsugu Komasa, born into a family that ran Komasa Jyozo, a 138-year-old producer of shochu.

Learn all about the old-new spirit from Japan: Shochu. 

To spirits devotees in Japan, many of these successful names in craft Japanese whisky are simply carrying on a family legacy of alcohol production, albeit in another type of spirit. The apple isn't meant to fall far from the tree. And just as Elizabeth II was widely respected for stepping up and accepting the heavy responsibility as monarch of the UK, there is something royal and very respectable about honouring your family business legacy in Japan. Duty and honour to family, am I right?

Today, I had the special opportunity to experience the taste of family legacy with craft distiller Kanosuke - started by the descendant of a long line of Japanese shochu makers. I have with me the Kanosuke Modern Malt 2022, specially bottled for the 2022 Modern Malt Festival in Japan. This is a single cask whisky that has been exclusively aged in bourbon barrels, bottled as a satisfying 61.5% ABV. Let's give this a taste! 

Kanosuke Modern Malt 2022, Single Cask Bourbon Barrel, 61.5% ABV - Review

Appearance: Soft amber, clings to the inner sides of the glass with very long legs. 

Nose: Rich in flavour, mellow in texture and beautifully perfumed.

The nose opens with a rich, inviting perfumed note of rose, very similar to what you get eating traditional Hokkien rose mochi ("jie hong kueh" or "吉红糕").

Quickly followed by bright and generous lashings of honey and ripe juicy orchard fruits. Bright apple juice, sliced Asian pear with rich honeyed notes. Gradually opens to reveal more depth - we get notes of caramel apples, vanilla cream verging on a slight maltiness of English digestive biscuits. 

A complex and enticing nose. The sweet honeyed nose eventually reveals a little bit of citrus and gentle black tea-like woodiness, which you might interpret as lemon iced tea.

Palate: Velvety texture with an enthralling boldness in flavour. 

The palate does let up a bit on its youth – this is a 3 year old after all. Fairly hot on the tongue with a piquant woody pepperiness that hits the mid-palate. All that is well-supported by rich notes of sweet honey, cinnamon and anise. Sweetness and spice perhaps reminds me of Indian ginger milk tea 

The mouthfeel is a very pleasant oiliness. The palate expands with depths of syrupy honeyed notes and gentle vanilla oakiness clinging to the tongue. Despite just having 3 years of maturation, there is great depth of flavour which probably demonstrates the impact of temperature fluctuations due to Kagoshima's climate. Besides some heat, the palate is rich and round with honey, light oak and some oranginess.

The finish: is long with fading notes of orange peels and a sustained blast of icy spearmint through the oral cavity. A hint of dried chili flakes.

My thoughts

I'm once again reminded why craft Japanese whiskies are so captivating to an international audience.

This is an absolute delight from beginning to end; it starts with a beautiful bouquet of roses, a deep, textural, honeyed palate and ends with a blast of mint. A dram that demonstrates character well beyond its age. 

Its maturation regime is fairly straightforward - this was exclusively matured in first-fill bourbon barrels. Which leads me to think that the magic lies somewhere in the ingredients or distillation process. As our Japanese bartender friend has said, "there must be something in the water down in Kagoshima." 

Read more about "Mellow Lands and Mellow Whiskies" from Kanosuke Distillery.

@CharsiuCharlie