Mars Tsunuki 2017 Limited Of Minami-Satsuma City Japanese Single Malt Whisky (2020) 70cl
1 of approximately 500 bottles exclusive to Minami-Satsuma City according to Mars.
The naming on this one is a mouthful. It’s one of the first single malt whiskies released out of Mars Whisky’s Tsunuki Distillery, which came online in November 2016.
Given the distillery specs and its location in the more temperate Kagoshima prefecture, Mars has already come out and said that Tsunuki’s whiskies will be bolder and meatier than their Shinshu Distillery releases out of Nagano. Spoiler: they’re not kidding!
Mars Tsunuki releases are highly coveted in Japan but not so known about outside of Japan due to the little amount that is shipped to the west. Many releases are exclusively created for Taiwan, China, Singapore and the US but in the UK we have a very limited supply.
Timing-wise, the release of this bottle sits after April 2020’s Single Malt Tsunuki The First but before 2021’s Single Malt Tsunuki Peated. This release was exclusive to Minami Satsuma city with a light ppm of 3.5 matured in a bourbon barrel. The whisky is hyper aged on Yakushima Island so the result is a whisky beyond its stated years.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: A pile of wet mulch, malt, and wood chips. Dried banana, honeydew melon, green apple. A bit of water brings out a dessert platter of vanilla wafers, red velvet cake and ginger snap cookies
Palate: Intense oak and young alcohol for the age, nearly coaxing over the malt and sun-kissed tropical fruits that barely show themselves. You’ll need to dig to find hints of honey, cacao and red apple. Water brought out bitter dark chocolate.
Finish: Handful of nuts, more oak wood. Oriental spices and white pepper wrap things up.
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.
*due end Feb 2026
50% ABV
70cl
