Mars The Lucky Cat Sun

Mars The Lucky Cat Sun is a blended malt from Hombo Shuzo's Mars Shinshu distillery in Nagano prefecture, bottled in 2015 for the European market as part of the Lucky Cat series. The spirit was matured in Ex-Bourbon casks before receiving a finish in both Port and Madeira casks, a dual fortified-wine finishing strategy that adds multiple layers of fruit-driven sweetness.

The Port cask contributes red berry and plum, while the Madeira finish adds dried apricot, caramel and a nutty oxidative note. Over the Ex-Bourbon base these fortified finishes give Lucky Cat Sun a generous, fruit-led sweetness that made it well suited to the European market of the mid-2010s, when Japanese whisky was gaining significant attention. At 39% the expression sits below standard bottling strength for Japanese single malts, giving it a light, easy character that drinks as much like a dessert expression as a whisky.