Mars : Tsunuki 9 Year Old Tsunuki Aging Lightly Peated Sherry Cask 2017

Characteristics and Tasting Tips for Mars Tsunuki 9 Years Old Tsunuki Aging Lightly Peated Sherry Cask 2017

Tasting

Nose

The nose is complex and lithe. It opens on green, malted barley, accompanied by citrus (candied lemon, orange). Dried fruits follow (persimmon, walnut, chestnut) with a touch of toffee. Later, earthy notes of dry peat emerge, along with roots (gentian, ginger) and an ashy register reminiscent of cigar.

Palate

The attack is refined and broad. Chocolate mingles with exotic fruits (mango, banana, guava), grassy notes of alfalfa and freshly cut hay, and infusions of sage and linden blossom. Liquorice, powdery nuances of cocoa, a heady impression of iris concrete, delicate peat, a saline touch and camphor then unfold. The whole remains lively and fresh.

The finish, full and noble, offers candied flavours of Corinth currants, fig and very ripe banana, with a sun-drenched character. The retronasal aromas evoke smoked meat and a fireplace hearth.

Other Characteristics

This whisky is lightly peated, with a phenol content of 3.5 ppm, and bears the "Lightly Peated" designation. It shows a very fine peat with earthy, rooty, ashy, meaty and empyreumatic accents, along with malty, exotic and floral layers that immediately convey an impression of fullness. It is bottled at 58.6% ABV in a 70 cl bottle, presented in a gift box.

A Remarkably Refined Mars Japanese Whisky, Lightly Peated and Aged in Sherry Casks

Mars, a Family-Owned House at the Heart of Japanese Whisky

Mars is the Japanese whisky brand of Hombo Shuzo, a house founded in 1872 in what is now Kagoshima Prefecture by Matsusaemon Hombo. Still owned and run today by the Hombo family across several generations, it retains shochu as its main activity. Hombo Shuzo obtained its whisky licence in 1949, then adopted the name "Mars" in 1960. This Japanese whisky relies on two malt distilleries: Komagatake in Miyada, in Nagano Prefecture, and Tsunuki, inaugurated in 2016 in Minamisatsuma. Three maturation sites, including the island of Yakushima, complete the setup. These contrasting terroirs make Mars a true laboratory of Japanese maturation, and in 2017 Hombo Shuzo was awarded the title of "Craft Producer of the Year" at the Icons of Whisky.

Tsunuki 9 Years Old Tsunuki Aging Lightly Peated Sherry Cask 2017, a Single Malt Aged at Tsunuki

The Tsunuki 9 Years Old Tsunuki Aging Lightly Peated Sherry Cask 2017 is a Japanese single malt whisky in an official bottling. It was distilled and aged at Tsunuki, the southernmost distillery in mainland Japan, where production began in November 2016. Its 2017 vintage therefore places it among the first years of production at the site.

This 9-year-old single malt matured in sherry casks, in the hot, humid climate of southern Japan. Lightly peated, it has a phenol content of 3.5 ppm. It is offered at 58.6% ABV in a 70 cl bottle, presented in a gift box.