The Mars Shinshu Mars Maltage Cosmo

Mars Maltage Cosmo is a blended malt from Hombo Shuzo, drawing on malt whiskies from within the Hombo group, with Mars Shinshu in Nagano as its primary distillery. The 2020 bottling was matured across Ex-Bourbon casks and red wine casks, a combination that gives the spirit a dual character of cereal sweetness and vinous depth.

The red wine cask influence is the defining feature here, contributing toasted wood, dark chocolate and an old-wood dryness that lifts this beyond the straightforward Ex-Bourbon profile of many Cosmo releases. At 43% the balance is measured and approachable, with the wine cask adding body and colour alongside the base malt sweetness. Mars Maltage Cosmo sits within Hombo Shuzo's blended malt range as a more accessible complement to the single-distillery Komagatake and Tsunuki expressions.