Mars Tsunuki Peated (Bottled 2020) / 50% / 0.7l

In late 2015, Hombo Shuzo began construction of its second malt distillery, Tsunuki, in Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima Province.

The small, single-pot still distillery began production in October 2016, and Tsunuki single malt debuted in April 2020 with Tsunuki the First. The Peated edition presented here went on sale in December and was a blend of whiskies distilled in 2016-2017 (the distillery produces malt distillates with phenol concentrations ranging from 3.5ppm to 50ppm) and aged in bourbon barrels. Tsunuki Peated was bottled at 50% abv in an edition of 14,830 bottles. Early Tsunuki releases won rave reviews, with many connoisseurs comparing them to a debut on the scale of 2011’s Chichibu the First.

Aroma : peat and fruit, apples, pears, nectarines, honey, vanilla, a pinch of sea salt, traces of iodine and peat smoke.

Taste: very delicate, vanilla cream, butter cookies, caramel, apples, pears, quince jam and peat smoke in the background.

Finish : medium long, with notes of vanilla, white pepper, peat smoke, oak and a subtle fruity sweetness.