Kanosuke Limited Edition Single Malt Japanese Whisky 2022

Kanosuke Limited Edition Single Malt Japanese Whisky is a cask-strength, unpeated Japanese single malt bottled at 59 per cent.

Position matters here. The distillery stands in the deep south of Japan, right on the sea, where summers are mild and the rest of the year is wild and windy enough that the air inside is regularly laced with sea spray. Three bespoke pot stills, each with a different neck shape and lyne arm angle, give the malts their combination of smoothness and spice. This third Limited Edition is entirely unpeated malt, distilled between 2017 and 2019 across all three stills, then bottled at cask strength in June 2022. Unlike the previous year's two releases, sherry casks make up roughly 30 per cent of this blend, with the balance from mellow ex-shochu barrels and a smaller share of ex-bourbon wood.

Concentrated and warming, with dried fig, dark honey, clove and a spicy, saline finish that the strength drives hard. Neat first, then a few drops of water to unpack it. One large cube is acceptable. Do not bury this in a cocktail.