Distillery: Shinshu Mars X Chichibu (Aged at Shinshu, Nagano)

Age: NAS

ABV: 54%

Size: 700 ml

This is a special bottling released by the Shinshu Mars Distillery and is a vatting of malt from two distilleries, "Komagatake" and "Chichibu", which has been matured at Mars Shinshu Distillery in a variety of Bourbon Barrel, American White Oak and Sherry Oak for more than 5 years. In 2015, Mars Shinshu Distillery and Venture Whisky (Chichibu) Distillery began exchanging their new make spirit, which was subsequently matured in their respective locations. 10,918 Bottles were released.

Nose: sweet maple syrup, oak spices and some notes of varnish along with plum and a hint of caramelised orange peel 

Palate: Sweet caramel, some brandy cake, cacao and nutmeg with a hint of smoke and spiciness 

Finish: Gentle tannins along with some black tea on the finish. With water, more caramel and toffee notes are evident along with oak spices.