While Chichibu gets the lust, Komagatake gets......noticed. Fashioned in Mars Shinshu distillery, the Komagatake single malts have not yet reached 10 years of age, and many of their early bottlings had single malt from the previous Shinshu production era (1985-1992) mixed in. So like Chichibu their whiskies are very young and very expensive, though many of the regular Komagatake releases stay below $200. I'm still not going to call this stuff cheap.
For more on Mars's whisky, I recommend checking out my Mission: Mars series from 2018. Here's the intro and here's the closer with the review links.
Today I shall compare two official Komagatake single casks -- one bourbon barrel and one sherry butt -- which I enjoy courtesy of bottle splits. Expectations set to medium well.
Mars Komagatake 4 year old 2012
cask 1453, USA release
Brand: Komagatake
Distillery: Mars Shinshu
Ownership: Hombo Shuzo Co. Ltd.
Region: Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Age: 4 years (February 2012 - July 2016)
Maturation: bourbon barrel
Cask #: 1453
Outturn: 175 bottles
Bottled for: USA
Alcohol by Volume: 58%
(from a bottle split)
NOTES
The nose is full of cereals (think wheat bran and oats), as well as lemons, rosemary and witbier. It's sugary and pretty, a little bit worty. It develops notes of rosewater and dried grass clippings with time. It reads younger once it's reduced to 46%abv. More sugar, more malt. Grassier and toastier.
It's even younger on the palate, with yeast, wort, barley and a wheated bourbon-like sweetness. Pears and smoky peppercorns. The sweetness mellows with time, and some simple citrus notes appear. It's never too hot. Diluting the whisky to 46%abv narrows it a bit. Malt, grass, bitter herbs and a slight tart bite.
Tart lemons, black pepper and sugar in the finish. Once the whisky is reduced to 46%abv, the finish matches the palate with the tartness lasting the longest.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
There's no mistaking this for an older whisky. A blessed lack of oak allows one to get very very close to the spirit which feels novel in this whisky era. So though there's nothing remarkable about the whisky, I appreciate that direct barley hit. Though I'm tired of damned bloggers like me writing "I can't wait until this is ten years old", I can't wait until this is ten years old. In a refill cask. At a bargain price. *wink*
Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 83 (when neat)
Mars Komagatake 3 year old 2013 ePower
cask 1704
Brand: Komagatake
Distillery: Mars Shinshu
Ownership: Hombo Shuzo Co. Ltd.
Region: Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Bottler: ePower
Age: 3 years (March 2013 - September 2016)
Maturation: sherry butt
Cask #: 1704
Outturn: 594 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 56.9%
(from a bottle split)
NOTES
The nose on this one is more expressive than that of cask 1453. Apricots, eucalyptus, vanilla fudge and honey are the first to greet the sniffer, followed by toasted barley, mesquite and cinnamon syrup. It picks up notes of amaretto and almond extract with more time in the glass. When reduced to 46%abv, the nose becomes simpler: flowers, lychee and barley.
For the palate my notes read, "Malt and almond things". Then there's a distinct new make note, almost like rye white dog. It opens up further after 20+ minutes, revealing walnuts, agave nectar, wheat bread toast crust and dried apricots. It has a nice thick mouthfeel. Again, reducing the whisky to 46%abv really does water it down. It becomes sweet, bitter and almond-y with a little bit of cherry candy on the corners.
The sweet and nutty finish sticks around for a long time. Notes of cinnamon, salt, dough and dried apricots linger. Diluted to 46%abv, the whisky's finish matches the palate.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
As with cask 1453, cask 1704 does not hide its whisky's youth. Though the sherry cask lends some character, it shares bright fresh fruit and nuts rather than oak and raisins. And, like its sparring partner, it performs much better when neat. I enjoyed this one a teeny bit more, while also realizing that at 10 years old this cask would likely have smothered the spirit.
Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 84 (when neat)
FINAL THOUGHTS
Aside from an excellent Komagatake I enjoyed in Japan (but have since forgotten which edition it was) all the Mars Shinshu single malts (from the current production period) I have tried fall into this general age and rating range. Though that totals just five whiskies, I do wonder how much more can be done with this single malt at this extreme youth. Though I continue to root for Hombo Shuzo Co. and its whiskies, I do hope they can push the age up without raising the prices much more.
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