50% ABV, Non-chilfiltered, bottled in 2022
This limited-edition single malt was distilled at the Mars Shinshu distillery at the high-altitude juncture of Japan’s Southern and Central Alps. It was then aged at the Mars Tsunuki Distillery, in its southern location of Kagoshima. Experimenting with the effects of the drastic climate change between these two distilleries, this single malt whisky, bottled at cask strength, could only come from Mars. Expect notes of toasted almond, sweet apples, and bright citrus complemented by vanilla and whipped cream.
Sandwiched between Japan’s soaring Southern Alps and the towering Central Alps and at just over 2,600 feet, Mars Shinshu is Japan’s highest whisky distillery. The Hombo family has been distilling shochu for more than a century and added whisky to their repertoire in 1949. Back then, the distillery was located in Kagoshima Prefecture on the southernmost island of Kyushu. In 1984, the Hombo clan moved the distillery to the idyllic alpine setting of Miyada village in southern Nagano Prefecture. They chose this site for its cool temperatures, which slow maturation, and the plentiful and soft granite-filtered, snowmelt-fed aquifers.