Mars Tsunuki 2018 (LMDW)

Distilled at Tsunuki in 2018 and bottled in 2024 at 5 Years Old, this is a single cask single malt selected by La Maison du Whisky for release in France at cask strength. Tsunuki is Hombo Shuzo's Kagoshima distillery, where the warm and humid climate of southern Kyushu gives the maturing spirit a richness and weight that develops faster than in Japan's cooler inland or northern distilleries.

The cask is American white oak, which over five years in Kagoshima's conditions has built a layered and complex profile. The flavour data shows chocolate and cooked fruit as the dominant notes, with dried fruit and a leathery, nutty depth in the middle. A thread of smoke runs through the finish, suggesting either a lightly peated component in this distillate or a char-forward barrel. At 58.5%, the whisky is full-bodied and textured, with the oak's firm structure framing the darker, richer flavours that distinguish this bottling from the more citric single cask releases in the same vintage family.