Fukano Distillery
Single Cask Reviews
Hitoyoshi is surrounded by mountains and is known for its pure water and nature.
Shigeruriku Fukano is the fifth generation of his family to run the distillery. They use a combination of malted and un-malted rice to make their whisky in a pot still. These releases are very limited in nature and only a few casks are bottled each year.
Fukano was the first distillery in the Kumamoto region to mature its shochu in barrels, a novel practice spearheaded by Chizuru Fukano, the mother of current distillery president Seiichi Fukano. It’s this post-distillation wood aging that turns the fresh shochu into something more accurately classified as whisky.
More Info at www.fukanowhisky.com
Best Sherry Cask Japanese Whisky: Fukano 12-Year-Old Single Sherry Cask – Men’s Journal Spirits Awards 2024
Chris Uhde walks you through a tour of the Fukano Distillery in Japan
Fukano Select
Our latest Annual Edition featuring our new bottle and label design.
Fukano Select has been developed using Red Wine casks, Manzanilla Sherry casks, and new & refilled Oak casks.
4,170 bottle
43% abv
2023 Las Vegas Global Spirit Awards – Best in Category – World Whisky – Platinum, 97 pts.
Fukano Blonde
This new Limited Edition of only 1,040 bottles celebrates how elegant the spirit can be when not overpowered by Oak.
Bottled at 42.5% abv, it’s a moment in time, and it’s awesome.
A vatting of two large casks. Each cask contributed an element that was missing when tasted separately, vatting them together created the most unique Fukano ever released.
Fukano Blonde is about elegance. Tasting notes include asian pear, lychee, mild vanilla, and toasted cinnamon bread.
There is a creaminess that coats the palate almost like the oil from a very fresh O’toro.
This whisky is meant to be pared with very mild white fish and vegetables.
2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition – Double Gold, 98 points
Fukano 200th Anniversary Sherry Single Cask
This special release of 2,324 bottles was crafted to celebrate the distillery’s 200th Anniversary.
Bottles at 42.3% abv, it is big and dank with Sherry influence.
Fukano Edition #2223
There is a special place within the clouds peacefully suspended over Hitoyoshi Japan consisting of sea salt, foreign trade winds, and eventual showers. This canopy continues to germinate the Fukano profile; untouched as it has been for centuries. Pure, natural, & simply delicious.
This latest edition for 2022/2023 offers a beautiful blend of koji whisky aged in refilled White Oak, Manzanila Sherry, and French red wine casks. Yielding a total of 5,670 bottles released globally. Bottled at 41.6% abv.
NOSE: Sugared plums and mulberry are presented with fresh rain and powdered baking spices; with hints of root veg sweetness.
PALATE: Young cherry blossoms, waxed honeysuckle, and orchard fruit soak in just before the delicate citrus oils and lightly toasted macadamia nut, butterscotch, and tropical skins arrive.
FINISH: As the spices settle to a soft creaminess, a whispering fizz complimented by ripe plantains and dried wine melt slowly toward a lasting semi-sweet white chocolate covered cherry fade.
92 points New Wine Review
Fukano Chizuru
3,000 Bottle Limited Production
This small batch release of Fukano Whisky has been created in collaboration with Women Who Whiskey to celebrate the career of Chizuru Fukano.
The whisky was matured in used Oak, Manzanilla Sherry and Red Wine casks. This collaboration with the international Women Who Whiskey club is a sessionable sipper with complexity and backbone that would also work well in a refreshing cocktail.
“Nose: So much going on here. Fresh raspberries under a hot sun. A Coffee note weaves through then transitions into an earthy, exotic note of rooibos tea. A bright little zing of slightly underripe strawberries with an undertone of hyacinth, then redwood!
Palate: A burst of allspice on the front palate. Very lightly stewed golden plum mid-palate, a hint of thyme, then more of that woodsy earthiness–like a dry, evergreen forest—that was found on the nose.
Finish: Rose petals just before they lose the bloom. A strong under note of cacao and a little bit of milky coffee with a lingering finish.”
-Kim Ohanneson, President ~Women Who Whiskey, Los Angeles Chapter”
In 2021, Women Who Whiskey celebrates 10 years of uniting whiskey Lovers around the globe. Both for amateurs and connoisseurs, wWw is dedicated to creating a space where our members can cultivate their passions for whiskey and community. With a focus on inclusion, wWw aims to create an educational and experimental environment for those who have all-too-often been left out of the traditionally male-dominated world of whiskey. Membership provides the opportunity to learn about spirits and cocktail culture, and to join a world-wide network of like-minded people with a taste for curiosity and delicious drams. Cheers!
Fukano 2021
2,550 Bottles
The Fukano 2021 Edition is a Combination of Red Wine casks and Manzanilla Sherry Casks.
The Red Wine casks add nice fruity overtones while the Manzanilla Sherry contributes a savory component to the whisky. As with most Koji Whiskies, Umami is present throughout.
Nose: Strawberry, Earl Grey tea, roasted cashews.
Palate: Raw honey, Brazil nuts, Manzanilla Sherry, and Umami.
Finish: Same as palate with more intense honey and roasted cashews
Locally Grown Rice, a Pure Water Source, and Charred Barrels
Because rice is a clean, sulfurless, distillate it doesn’t require copper stills to produce a drinkable beverage and is instead distilled in stainless steel at a relatively low proof. After distillation the shochu, which would be called new make outside of Japan, is then transferred to new charred Oak barrels and laid to rest in a warehouse that more closely resembles a Scottish dunnage than a Kentucky Rickhouse.
Fukano Whisky Previous Limited Releases
Fukano Vault Reserve Whisky #1 40.5% ABV
This is a mildly sherry influenced version of the Vault Reserve. Tasting notes include plums, muscadines, sandalwood, cinnamon, sherry with the lightest touch of gunpowder. 5443 bottles produced globally.
Fukano Vault Reserve Whisky #2 40.4% ABV
Tasting notes include apple pie, tobacco, white raisins, white tea, cedarwood, butterscotch
Fukano Jikan Whisky 40.4% ABV
This is a limited release to celebrate the rich history of Hitoyoshi, Japan. The blue on the label is the Kuma River. The dark brown is the mountains of the region. The red structure represents the Aoi Aso Shrine originally founded in 806 with over 1200 years of history. The dragons are said to have been lured to the shrine while drinking water at a nearby pond.
Fukano 6000 Whisky 40.4% ABV
Fukano 6000 is the future of