Mars 5 Year Old 2018 Tsunuki Aging Single American White Oak Cask #T803 20ppm Foundations Japanese Single Malt Whisky (2024) 70cl
1 of 275 bottles
A single cask exclusive for MDW following the Whisky Live Paris 2024 show. The photos and write ups cannot do this one enough justice. One of the best whiskies we were fortunate enough to try at the show.
Located in Kagoshima prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū, the Tsunuki distillery is surrounded by Mount Choya (513 meters) and Mount Kuraya (415 meters), from which it draws its spring water. Aged in American white oak casks for five years, this version reveals this single malt in an extremely nuanced and subtle light. Medium-peaty, tenderly malty, mineral and marine, its aromatic palette differs markedly from the denser, more concentrated single cask # T1880 offered by Mars in this catalog.
TASTING NOTES
Nose : fine, airy. Initially, earthy (clay), meaty (leather) and malty (grist) aromas nourish an extremely delicate peat. At once mineral (rock) and sandy, iodized (sea spray) and vegetal (seaweed), the aromatic palette poetically evokes a stroll along the seashore under a springtime sky.
Palate : fluffy, gourmand. Equally pictorial, the taste palette first invites us to savour a piece of chocolate with fleur de sel. It then becomes increasingly gourmand, inviting us to indulge in orange liqueur, doughnuts, pralines and hazelnuts.
Overall : clean, generous. Overflowing with dynamism, the palette of flavours extends to herbaceous (rosemary) and roasted (espresso) tones. Continually gaining in deliciousness (chocolate muesli, Mirabelle plum jam), it also becomes, over time, deeply malty, candied and mineral.
About Mars
Japan's highest distillery, Shinshu was built by the whisky division of the Hombo Shuzo Co, known as Mars, in 1985. It is located in Miyada, a village in the Nagano Prefecture, and operated for seven years before being mothballed in 1992. Despite being relatively succesful in their native market, Mars had not had the success of its competitors Nikka and Suntory on the global stage, and the struggling Japanese whisky market at the time forced the company's hand. In the subsequent years however, things began to improve, and Shinshu distillery was eventually re-opened in 2011. Mars bottles its single malt under the Komagatake brand, and have also opened a sister distillery called Tsunuki to provide for its popular blends.
This whisky has been aged in the stone warehouse of Mars Tsunuki distillery in Kagoshima. It is a vatting of ex-Bourbon cask aged spirit.
In 1985, Hombo Breweries opened the Mars Shinshu distillery in Miyata village at the foot of the Komagatake Alps in Japan’s Nagano prefecture. Whisky production there takes place only during winter, with the rest of the year spent brewing beer and distilling other spirits. However, with the popularity of whisky enjoying a resurgence in Japan, “winter” now lasts for about six months at the distillery.
58.5% ABV
70cl
