• Limited-edition, annually released blended Japanese Whisky from Mars Komagatake Distillery (FKA Mars Shinshu) in Nagano, Japan
• Distilled from 70% malted barley and 30% corn
• Iwai Tradition, from Mars Whisky’s core range, is finished for over 11 months in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks
• Iwai Tradition is aged primarily in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks (other cask types including ex-wine, port, & new oak may vary batch to batch)
• Aromas of brown sugar, cacao, and black cherry with a complex palate of dried apricot, lemon poppyseed cake, orange peel, and nutmeg
• Non-chill filtered; 40% ABV
This limited-release expression from Mars sees its beloved, malt-driven Iwai Tradition finished for nearly a full year in Pedro Ximénez casks, a style of sherry prized for its concentrated sugars and robust, oxidized fruit notes.
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.