Region: Kagoshima, Japan
Distillery: Kanosuke Distillery
Age: NAS
ABV: 50%
Size: 700 ml
"Artist Edition #003" is a lightly peated (around 18 ppm) whisky and is the third release in the Artist Series from the Kanosuke Distillery in Kagoshima, Japan. It has been matured in a variety of casks (bourbon, re-charred ex shochu, sherry, and red wine) which has then been finished in Ex-Kokuto (Brown Sugar) Shochu casks from Amami Oshima Islands of Kagoshima.
Color: orange-amber. Nose: passion fruit, banana, caramel, black tea. Taste: Brown sugar, honey, nikki (a cinnamon like spice), sweet summer, ginger. Finish: Rich brown sugar sweetness with a hint of smoke (Tasting Note from Distillery)
The Artist Edition series from Kanosuke pays homage to the Five Elements that are an integral part of Japanese philosophy: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The Edition #001 (Artist Mariko Hirasawa/Wood) and Edition #002 (Artist Yuna Yagi/Fire) were the previous releases.
For Artist #003 the label captures the diversity of Kagoshima through the theme of "earth" and has been designed by Mr. Yukihito Kanai, a second generation dyer of "Kanai Kougei" (which dyes natural colors such as mud dyeing of Oshima Tsumugi, an ancient dye of Amami-Oshima). He drew inspiration from his visit to Kanosuke Distillery and the artwork features Fukiage Beach (close to the Distillery) as its motif.