Review by: Whiskery Turnip
Distillery: Mars Shinshu.
Bottler: Distillery.
Region: Japan Single Malt.
ABV: 50%.
Age: N/A. Bottled in 2022.
Cask type: Oak.
Nose: Citrus fruit and honey with subtle herbal tea and buttery pastry, White Rabbit candies, lemon and orange peel with hints of ginger, rock sugar with a kiss of mint and pandan jelly.
Palate: Medium-bodied, syrupy, candied citrus peel and honey rolled through with a touch of ginger spice and heat, pandan jellies and buttery pastry lingered with bright pepper and mellow grass.
Finish: Medium-length and drying with honeyed citrus tea and pepper.
Mental Image: Soothing a Sore Throat.
Conclusion: Honey citron tea appeared throughout this whisky, which thankfully did not veer toward the artificial fruits and bubble gum I have found one too many times on Komagatake single casks. Perhaps those elements fell away as multiple casks were vatted together— I could detect hints of them here, though that may only be because I was looking for them.
The flavors here were relatively tame, slotting into a well-structured neat line of citrus peel, honey, herbal grass, pastries, and then pepper. There was too much spirited pepper for my taste, though, especially on the finish. Those elements spoke to the youth of the whisky, and I would be shocked if this were much older than the 3-6 years most of the Mars Shinshu single casks I have tried. At the most, some of the casks could have been roughly a decade old since the distillery only reopened in 2011.
Overall, pleasant and fruity, but lacking some refinement.
Final Score: 78.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 