Fukano Sherry Cask is a game changer for me when it comes to the Fukano lineup. GRC brings in two different brands of Japanese Rice Whiskey – Ohishi and Fukano; of the the two I almost always prefer Ohishi’s elegant complexity to Fukano’s more rice driven delivery… until this came along. A combination of 3 first fill and 2 second fill casks it’s the best Fukano I’ve had yet.
Obviously I’ll get into everything deeper in the Fukano Sherry Cask review below, but the release is the best Fukano I’ve had yet. I think there’s something magical that happens when you pair the lightly sweet rice spirit with the darker sweetness of sherry. It’s a great combo and these distilleries are putting out some excellent sherry bombs.
Fukano Sherry Cask Japanese Whisky Info
Region: Japan
Distiller: Fukano
Mashbill: 100% Rice
Cask: ex-Oloroso
Age: NAS
ABV: 43%
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Price: $90
Fukano Sherry Cask Japanese Whisky Review
EYE
Copper
NOSE
Sherry, citrus, vanilla frosting, cocoa, rice sweetness, buttery dark fruit heavy with blueberries and blackberries and a bit of leather, cinnamon oil and butterscotch.
PALATE
Sherry, dried cherries, rice sweetness, cocoa, brûlée, spice and a bit of leather, herbal, chalk and oak.
FINISH
Long sherried fade of chewy dark fruit and rice sweetness.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Great sense of balance, full body and a soft oily feel.
OVERALL
Fukano Sherry Cask is great, it’s so close to a 90 you could consider it an 89.9, but it narrowly misses the mark with the palate’s slightly muted complexity. Don’t get me wrong, this is a sherry bomb and the sherry heads out there should be rejoicing in it, but it doesn’t deliver quite the punch the aroma does. If it did it would be an A- all day long.
On the whole the aroma is a multi-layered ball of darker sherry-style sweet notes and lighter rice-style sweet notes. It sounds like it should be overly sweet, but it’s remarkably not. The same theme follows through the palate but it’s a bit muted and doesn’t quite deliver the same level of complexity. Still, the Fukano Sherry Cask is delicious and furthers my love of the heavily sherried rice whiskies from Japan.
SCORE: 89/100 (B+)
