Mars Komagatake Yakushima Aging Bottled 2020 / 53% / 0.7l

Komagatake is a single malt produced at Mars Shinsu Distillery, the highest distillery in Japan (798 m above sea level).

It is based in the village of Miyada, Nagano Prefecture, in the picturesque Japanese Alps. In 2011, after a break of almost 20 years, it resumed whisky production, using both "unpeated" malt and three types of "peated" malt - with phenol concentrations of 3.5 ppm, 20 ppm and 50 ppm. The whisky presented here was aged in bourbon barrels in the warehouse of Hombo Shuzo, the distillery owner, located on the island of Yakushima (southern Poland). Bottled at cask strength (53% abv) in 2020 for the European distributor La Maison du Whisky in an edition of 3,012 bottles.

Aroma: fruity, honey, vanilla, pineapples, passion fruit, oranges, apricots, banana cake, coconut flakes, white pepper, a bouquet of wild flowers and a touch of salty breeze.

Palate: bananas, pineapples, apricots, pink grapefruits, milk chocolate, vanilla, honey, salted peanuts, notes of pepper and oak.

Finish: quite long, with notes of vanilla, honey, almond croissants, white pepper, lemon peel and a hint of licorice.