{"product_id":"kanosuke-hioki-pot-still-single-grain-whisky","title":"SP41 Kanosuke Hioki Pot Still Single Grain Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eDistilled at Hioki Distillery and matured at Kanosuke Distillery — both operated by Komasa Jozo in Kagoshima — this single grain whisky tells the story of where Kanosuke itself began. Before there was a Kanosuke Distillery, there was Hioki, long used for the family's shochu production, including their pioneering aged rice shochu \"Mellowed Kozuru.\" Made from a mash of unmalted and malted barley, it draws directly on Irish pot still whiskey tradition — the combination of malted and unmalted grain distilled in a pot still is the same technique behind whiskies like Redbreast, giving it a similarly fruity character and viscous mouthfeel. But the distillation itself uses techniques refined through shochu-making: reduced-pressure (vacuum) distillation in a single-stage stainless steel still, which keeps the distillation rate low and preserves more of the raw ingredient's character than a typical continuous grain still would. After distillation, the spirit matures in new American white oak puncheons and ex-bourbon barrels for a minimum of three years, with the larger puncheon size (roughly 450 liters, versus the standard 200-liter barrel) chosen specifically to slow maturation in Hioki's fast-aging climate. The result is aromatic and rich: freshly hewn wood, stone fruit, and citrus give way to vanilla, orange marmalade, and almond, finishing with a lingering spicy-sweet candied ginger note. Originally created purely as a blending component for Kanosuke Double Distillery, it earned such praise on its own that it was released as a standalone product in December 2023. Bottled at 51% ABV.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eABOUT THE ORIGIN\u003cbr\u003eHioki Pot Still exists because of a question master distiller Yoshitsugu Komasa asked himself: could a shochu distillery and a whisky distillery find common ground? His answer drew on techniques he studied firsthand in Ireland and America — Irish pot still mashbills and bourbon-style new oak maturation — fused with generations of Komasa Jozo's own shochu-distilling expertise, resulting in a genuinely hybrid spirit unlike anything else in Japanese whisky.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSTYLE: SINGLE GRAIN JAPANESE WHISKY (POT STILL)\u003cbr\u003eMASH BILL: UNPEATED MALTED BARLEY (~90%) AND UNMALTED BARLEY (~10%)\u003cbr\u003eDISTILLATION: REDUCED-PRESSURE (VACUUM) DISTILLATION, SINGLE-STAGE STAINLESS STEEL POT STILL\u003cbr\u003eCASK: NEW AMERICAN WHITE OAK PUNCHEONS AND EX-BOURBON BARRELS, MINIMUM 3 YEARS\u003cbr\u003eSPECIAL NOTES: ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED AS A BLENDING COMPONENT FOR KANOSUKE DOUBLE DISTILLERY; RELEASED STANDALONE IN DECEMBER 2023; NO ADDED COLORING\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hioki Distillery and Kanosuke Distillary","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47967300976870,"sku":"SPT-108","price":124.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0781\/2697\/3158\/files\/SPT-108-web.jpg?v=1783693863","url":"https:\/\/dcsake.com\/products\/kanosuke-hioki-pot-still-single-grain-whisky","provider":"DC Sake","version":"1.0","type":"link"}