Kanosuke 2018 Bourbon Cask 19044 is the final release in The Whisky Exchange’s Brush Stroke series, a peated single cask from the Kagoshima distillery made with barley malted to 50 ppm and matured entirely in one first-fill bourbon cask. Expect restrained peat smoke against orchard fruit, vanilla and spice, with a coastal salinity running through the finish. Bottled in 2025 at 57% ABV with only 156 bottles produced, it is exclusive to The Whisky Exchange at £165 for 70cl, with international shipping available.
Kanosuke is one of the Japanese distilleries we have kept a close eye on over the past few years of our whisky travels. Their whisky is consistently excellent, built on a quality-first approach that shows in almost everything they release. The distinctive label design, drawn from the sun on the horizon as seen from the coast at Kagoshima, has become instantly recognisable, and it is the visual signature behind this new single cask.
This release matters because it is peated, which is still unusual for Kanosuke, and because it closes out a series. The Whisky Exchange has bottled its Brush Stroke run of single cask Kanosuke exclusively, and cask #19044 is the last one out the door.
The key facts
- Cask type: First-fill bourbon, single cask (fully matured, not just finished)
- Cask number: 19044
- Vintage: 2018
- Bottled: 2025
- ABV: 57%
- Bottles produced: 156
- Volume: 70cl
- Price: £165 (£137.50 ex VAT)
- Availability: Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange, ships internationally
Why a peated Kanosuke is worth paying attention to
Kanosuke’s house style leans toward tropical, fruit-driven spirit, shaped by the warm, coastal climate of Kagoshima at the southern tip of Kyushu. Peated releases are a smaller part of their output, so a single cask built on barley malted to 50 ppm stands out from the rest of the range. Full maturation in one first-fill bourbon cask, rather than a finish, means the smoke has had the entire life of the whisky to integrate with the fruit and vanilla character the distillery is known for, instead of being layered on at the end.
Who is Kanosuke and why this release matters
Kanosuke was founded on the coast of Kagoshima, Japan’s southernmost mainland prefecture, by a company with generations of experience distilling shochu before it turned its attention to whisky. That background shows in the distillery’s willingness to experiment with still shapes and cask programmes rather than following a single house blueprint borrowed from Scotland.
The location matters too. Kagoshima’s warm climate accelerates maturation compared with Scotland, and the coastal air brings a salinity that shows up consistently across the range, including in this cask. Kanosuke has built its reputation on modern, thoughtful Japanese whisky that reads as familiar in structure but distinct in character, and this peated single cask is a good example of that idea taken somewhere the core range rarely goes.
Kanosuke 2018 Bourbon Cask #19044 tasting notes
The Whisky Exchange describes the peat here as restrained rather than dominant, sitting alongside orchard fruit, vanilla cream and warming spice. A coastal salinity runs underneath, adding lift through a long finish that stays balanced rather than smoke-heavy.
Character: Restrained peat smoke, orchard fruit, vanilla, warming spice, coastal salinity
Finish: Long, balanced, saline
ABV: 57% | Cask type: First-fill bourbon (single cask) | Price: £165
Flavour description based on The Whisky Exchange’s own listing; we have not personally tasted this cask, and the retailer has not published a full nose/palate/finish breakdown for it.
Price and availability
The Kanosuke 2018 Bourbon Cask #19044 is priced at £165 for a 70cl bottle (£137.50 ex VAT) It is in stock and exclusive to The Whisky Exchange, which ships to a long list of countries including Germany, and other parts of Europe, alongside the UK, US, and further afield. With only 156 bottles produced, this is not a release that will sit on shelves for long once word gets around.
Is it worth it?
At £165 for a 57% ABV single cask with only 156 bottles, this sits in fair territory for allocated Japanese single malt, especially one closing out a named series. It is worth it for anyone building a Kanosuke collection, for peated whisky drinkers curious about how smoke behaves outside Scotland, and for collectors who value single-cask, non-chill-filtered bottlings with a defined bottle count. It is not the release for someone wanting an easy introduction to Kanosuke; the core Kanosuke Single Malt at £89.95 is the better starting point. For anyone already familiar with the distillery’s fruit-forward house style, this cask offers a genuinely different angle on it.
If you want it, buy directly through The Whisky Exchange while stock remains, since exclusive single casks at this bottle count do not get repeated.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kanosuke 2018 Bourbon Cask #19044? It is a single cask Japanese single malt from Kanosuke distillery, distilled in 2018 and bottled in 2025 exclusively for The Whisky Exchange. It is a peated expression, made with barley malted to 50 ppm and matured entirely in one first-fill bourbon cask, bottled at 57% ABV with 156 bottles produced.
What does Kanosuke 2018 Bourbon Cask #19044 taste like? According to The Whisky Exchange, expect restrained peat smoke against orchard fruit, vanilla cream and warming spice, with a coastal salinity adding freshness through a long, balanced finish.
How much does Kanosuke 2018 Bourbon Cask #19044 cost? It costs £165 (£137.50 ex VAT) for a 70cl bottle at 57% ABV, exclusively through The Whisky Exchange.
Where can I buy Kanosuke 2018 Bourbon Cask #19044? It is available exclusively from The Whisky Exchange, which ships internationally to a wide range of countries including Denmark and other parts of Europe, as well as the UK and US.
Is Kanosuke 2018 Bourbon Cask #19044 cask strength? It is bottled at 57% ABV from a single cask, which is a natural cask strength for that specific barrel rather than a reduced, standardised ABV.
What is Kanosuke distillery known for? Kanosuke is a Kagoshima-based Japanese distillery founded by a company with generations of shochu-distilling experience. It is known for tropical, fruit-forward spirit shaped by its warm coastal climate, and for experimenting with cask types and still shapes across a modern, quality-focused range.
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