A three-year-old single cask of Mars Shinshu single malt, distilled in May 2013 and bottled in September 2016 at a natural 61%. It carries the label of Blackadder, the Scottish independent bottler, and filled 239 bottles.
About This Whisky
The spirit spent just over three years in a refill bourbon barrel, cask #1647, at the distillery in the Central Alps of Nagano. The whisky writer Serge Valentin pointed out that it is an official Mars bottling dressed in a Blackadder label, an unusual arrangement for a Japanese distillery. Young, high-strength and from a refill cask, it shows the new-make character of the post-2011 spirit clearly. Drinkers on Whiskybase describe vanilla, banana and bubble gum on the nose, then honey, citrus and hay.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Vanilla, ripe banana and sugar syrup, with a touch of bubble gum and fresh wood.
- Palate: Honeyed and citric, with hay, cereal and more vanilla. The 61% gives it a sharp edge.
- Finish: Medium-long and warm, with sweet malt and light oak.
Serving & Food
This is young and fierce, so treat it as a water-and-wait dram. Pour a small measure, add a good splash of water and let it settle. It also makes a lively highball. Try it with yakitori, banana fritters or fresh pineapple.
How to Enjoy
Drinkers curious about the young Mars spirit at full strength, and followers of independent Blackadder labels.
Product Details
Distillery: Mars Shinshu (now Mars Komagatake)
Country: Japan
Region: Miyada, Nagano
Label: Blackadder
Category: Single cask Japanese single malt whisky
Distilled: May 2013
Bottled: September 2016
Age: 3 years
Cask: Refill bourbon barrel #1647
Edition Size: 239 bottles
ABV: 61.0%
Proof: 122
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Mars whisky belongs to Hombo Shuzo, a Kagoshima drinks company whose roots go back to 1872 and whose main trade was shochu. It gained a whisky licence in 1949 with help from Kiichiro Iwai, and built a first whisky distillery in Yamanashi in 1960.
The Mars name grew out of those early efforts. Today the company makes malt at two sites, Komagatake in the Nagano mountains and Tsunuki in its home prefecture of Kagoshima, and bottles single malts, blended malts and blends under the Mars label.