• 2023 release of Komagatake Single Malt
• 100% malted barley, very lightly peated (average 3.5 ppm or lower), twice distilled in copper pot stills
• Minimum 3 years old; aged in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and ex-Port wine casks
• A nose of petrichor, peaches and cream, lemon cakes, and milk chocolate lead to a palate of stone fruit, dried mango, and bittersweet chocolate with notes of sandalwood on the finish
• Non-chill filtered; 50% ABV
This year’s release of Komagatake single malt leans into the lush and bright fruit indicative of the distillery’s house style. Complex, cohesive, and approachable, 2023 is a great year for enjoying single malt from Nagano.
Sandwiched between Japan’s soaring Southern Alps and the towering Central Alps, at just over 2,600 feet, Mars Shinshu is Japan’s highest whisky distillery. The Hombo family have been distilling for more than a century and they added whisky to their repertoire in 1949. Back then the distillery was located inKagoshima Prefecture on the southern most island of Kyushu. Until 1984, it was the southernmost whisky made in Japan, which ended with the Hombo clan moving the distillery to the idyllic alpine setting of Miyada village in southern Nagano Prefecture. They chose this site for its cool temps, which slowed maturation, and the plentiful, soft, granite filtered snowmelt fed aquifers. Smart choice. The whiskies are elegant, smooth and very complex.