Kanosuke Distillery

Welcome to the Kanosuke Distillery, a cutting-edge facility located on the rugged west coast of Kagoshima Prefecture, overlooking the vast East China Sea. This is not just a place where whisky is made; it is a site of innovation…

Our tour begins in the milling room, the first step in the complex process of whisky production. Here, malted barley—some imported from Scotland and Germany, and increasingly some grown locally in partnership with Kagoshima…

We now move into the fermentation hall, where the wort is transformed into 'wash,' a liquid similar to a strong beer. At Kanosuke, they use a variety of fermentation vessels, including traditional wooden washbacks made of Douglas…

Welcome to the heart of the distillery: the distillation hall. Unlike most distilleries that use a pair of identical stills, Kanosuke is famous for its three distinct copper pot stills, manufactured by Miyake Seisakusho in Japan. …

We now enter the maturation warehouse, a place of quiet, aromatic shadows. This is where the clear new-make spirit is transformed into amber whisky through the magic of time and wood. …

No visit to Kanosuke is complete without a stop at the 'Mellow Bar.' This stunning tasting room features a massive, single-slab wooden counter that stretches along a wall-to-wall window overlooking the East China Sea. The design…

As we conclude our tour, we pass through the shop and gallery area. This is where the long history of the Komasa family is displayed. …

Our exploration of the Kanosuke Distillery ends here, but the flavors of the 'Mellow Land' will hopefully stay with you. We have seen how a hundred-year tradition of shochu making has evolved into a world-class whisky operation,…