![]() ![]() However, Japanese whisky typically follows Scotch Whisky regulations, which can only be called whisky if it has been aged for three or more years. ![]() The significant temperature differential in southwest Kagoshima, with hot summers and surprisingly cold winters, helps the whisky breathe faster, accelerating maturation. The Kanosuke Distillery was born from a frustration that CEO Yoshitsugu Komasa experienced as he tried to market his shochu overseas. Kanosuke is named after Kanosuke Komasa, the second-generation head of the distillery's former parent company Komasa Jyozo, a shochu maker founded in 1883. Their slogan, rather appropriately, is Mellow Land, Mellow Whisky. In November 2017, the Kanosuke Distillery opened at Fukiage-Hama (Japan's longest sand beach) in Hioki City in Kagoshima prefecture. All the distilleries mentioned here are committed to transparency and making real Japanese whisky. But a lot depends on the individual actions and honesty of the companies themselves. Sadly, some companies in Japan import whisky from Scotland, for example, bottle it and export it back to the world with the label “Japanese whisky.” It is hoped that new standards established by the industry in February 2021 has addressed these issues. Finding bottles of their whiskeys is tough, due to the demand, but drams of their output are readily available in bars up and down the country. Here are four of those new distilleries, part of the first wave of new craft distillers, that are worth keeping an eye on. I've tracked the rise of Japan's new wave of whisky companies and sought out the best new drinks out there! I've lived in Japan for 16 years and run Kanpai Planet -the largest non-Japanese YouTube channel focused specifically on Japan's drinks, including Japanese whisky. The seemingly insatiable demand for Japanese whisky has led to new players entering the industry: distilleries that had previously made whisky coming back into the game, shochu and sake makers joining the fray, and many more are making the golden aqua vitae. One of the videos on my YouTube channel, introducing the first Hibiki Whisky review. ![]()
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