The Kanosuke New Pot (Japanese New Make)

Tasting notes:
Sometimes I wonder how the older casks greet the fresh arrivals.  Do they call out “n00b!” with contempt or affection?  Do they tell scary stories about surprising attacks from the mean old copper dog, or of a stealthier reaper who collects the angel’s share?  I like to think that they share kind words of welcome.  And give leis to the newcomers. Hard to know for sure, and this Kanosuke New Pot can’t tell us.  What isn’t hard to do it talk about how this Kanosuke noses up.  We get buttered chrysanthemums pressed into the pages of a glossy yearbook, lemons kept in acrylic boxes, and a battalion of toy soldiers pushed into a sun-cooked garden hose. 

The mouth is vigorous, bracing, but flowery.  Think of peppermint stems simmered in molasses and tarragon.  Or consider cut-up quince left out to welcome guests.  There’s also grapefruit rinds incorporated into Jeep tires, screeching out when they run over the stuffed animals and action figures on the sofa during the getaway.  Vrrrrooooommmmm!

The finish comes back with butter or its time-shadow, a shadow cast so long it touches the horizon.  The bright and fruity parts give way to a complicated intersection of sweet, savory, and steely.  They say that phylogeny recapitulates ontogeny.  [Stephen: reaches for a dictionary, then withdraws it with a dismissive wave].  But have they ever said that ontology discombobulates theosophy?

   

Rating:
On the scale of sources of the tenets of theosophy—

The Kanosuke New Pot is the fact that they often aim merely to extract the essence of other religions–This was memorably put forward in a riposte by a defender of the theosophical against its Catholic critic: “The only difference between us and the professor’s friends is that we do not accept the mummery or the fierce dogmatism, while they do. We try to extract the kernel from the nut; he swallows the shell and thinks the kernel is of no use.” 

   

   

                                                   —John

   

   

–Our thanks to Nils Johannessen of Daracha AS for the sample!