Mars 2016 (LMDW)

Mars 2016 (LMDW) is a single cask single malt from Mars Shinshu, Hombo Shuzo's high-altitude Nagano distillery in Miyada, selected by La Maison du Whisky and bottled in 2022 after six years in a First-Fill Bourbon cask, released for the French market. The six-year period in first-fill American wood marks a step up in maturation depth from the earlier three and four year LMDW selections from the same distillery.

Bottled at 60% cask strength, the whisky is at the fuller end of what the clean Nagano new make tends to show. First-fill bourbon casks at this age typically deliver well-integrated vanilla, caramel and fresh fruit over a clean cereal base, with a developing wood structure that has had enough time to move beyond the raw resin of youth. In the absence of specific tasting data, the profile is expected to be the most rounded of the LMDW Mars Shinshu releases at six years.