Enso is a Japanese-style blended whisky named for the “ensō,” the hand-drawn circle in Zen Buddhist calligraphy representing a single, unbroken moment; the brand traces the name to a young art-school rebel in Kiyokawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, who used the circle as a symbol against convention. Its component whiskies are distilled in pot stills, matured separately in American oak, then shipped to Kiyokawa to be blended together. It isn’t JSLMA-compliant, meaning it doesn’t meet the newer voluntary standard for what counts as genuinely Japanese-distilled whisky, worth knowing rather than glossing over.
CHARACTER
Vanilla: rounded sweetness through the palate
Caramel: golden warmth on the nose and palate
Green Apple: fresh apple on the palate
Cinnamon: warm spice on the palate
Honey: golden sweetness on the nose
TASTING NOTES
NOSE- Lemon blossom, a suggestion of smoke and bright citrus, underpinned by vanilla, caramel and honey.
PALATE- Toasted oak and woody vanilla, alongside fresh apple, cinnamon and more delicate florals.
FINISH- Crisp pear and toasted cereals linger.
