Kanosuke Limited Edition 2022
Whisky: Kanosuke Limited Edition 2022
Country/Region: Japan
ABV: 59%
Cask: Shochu, Sherry
Age: N/A (Bottled 2022)
Nose: Fruity hard candies, dried grass, salted pickled plums, pop rocks with a twist of tangy lime, chalky earth with a kiss of salty minerality.
Palate: Medium-bodied, dried and pickled fruits, fruit leather, apples and mango candies with a hint of strawberry, a touch of bubble gum led to lacquered wood and dried grass, a modicum of spirited pepper, and underlying earth or cocoa.
Finish: Medium to long, cured fruits and hard candies.
Score: 5 (75)
Mental Image: Caught Sticky Fingered in the Crack Seed Store
Narrative & Notes: Dried fruits with a kiss of salt brought to mind jars brimming with salted, cured, and candied fruits in syrup— plums of all sorts suspended in sour, sweet, and salty syrup. Perfect for topping a strawberry icee or the cream-top on a bowl of shaved ice It was all sweet candied nostalgia, even when hints of earth and bubble gum began to appear.
Unfortunately, I did not find the flavors all harmonious or balanced. The finish was nice and long, but the back felt unrefined as peppery spirit popped out. I preferred the 2023 edition, which took some of these same elements but put them together in a more cohesive package.
Overall, this was lovely— I could see this bottle growing on me— but I am not a big fan of bubble gum notes, and it always felt a bit discordant.
