Kanosuke Artist Edition #003 (70cl, 50%)

Kanosuke Artist Edition #003 is a single malt Japanese whisky from the Kanosuke distillery in Hioki, Kagoshima, in a 70cl bottle at 50% ABV. It takes the element earth, from the five elements, as its theme, and the label design works in grass, mud and sand from the Kagoshima region. The blend brings together malt matured in used bourbon and red wine casks with malt from refill casks that once held black sugar shochu from Amami Oshima, along with some peated malt. The casks rest in a warehouse on a hill overlooking the East China Sea. The nose shows passion fruit and banana with caramel and black tea, and the palate brings brown sugar, honey, nikki spice and summer fruit. The finish is long, ending in a trace of smoke and salty minerality.