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Mars Cosmo is aged in Sherry, Bourbon, and American white oak new casks. Cosmo, is the name of a mountain in the Japan Central Alps close to the Mars Whisky distillery. From the name of Cosmo, which is reminiscent of the universe, the label design is based on the image of the night sky looking up from the Mars Shinshu Distillery. This is a limited bottling of Cosmo, which has been extra-seasoned in dry Spanish sherry Manzanilla casks. It is soft on the palate, having rich aromas, such as dried fruits, brown sugar, and maple syrup that came from the casks, along with a slight bitterness, coconut, and chocolate flavours in harmony.

Made from the blending of malts from the two distilleries of Yoichi and Miyagikyo, this whisky was the pride and joy of its creator Masataka Taketsuru, founder of Nikka and the father of Japanese Whisky. Light golden honey in colour with candied nuts, walnuts and hazelnuts on the nose as well as delicate and gentle smoke coming through with hay. Forward and straight pallet with juicy mouth feel, yet retaining a very gentle and sophisticated heat. Sweet apricots and peach dominate at first, leading to vanilla and subtle hints of ripe grape. Complex and long on the finish with lingering taste of dry herbs, leather and sweet pastry.

The Hibiki 17 Years Old whisky is a meticulous blend of over thirty of the finest single malts from Suntory's two distilleries, Yamazaki and Hakushu, and grain whisky from their Chita distillery, most with an age of well over 17 years.Created in 1989, Suntory artisans perfect this harmonious blend to create a full symphony of delicate flavours and blossoming aromas. The design of the bottle symbolises the 24 seasons of the Japanese lunar calendar.In 2018, Suntory Whisky announced the Hibiki 17 Years Old would be discontinued making this scarce bottle a rare collector's item of enchanting value. (No box).

"One for no age statement naysayers... Eloquent & beautiful." - whiskyadvocate.com Back in 2015, Nikka announced they were discontinuing their age statement and No Age Statement (NAS) releases for the Yoichi and Miyagikyo labels and consolidating them into two new bottlings. These whiskies have now arrived in Australia. Two NAS versions that differ slightly to the previous versions now represent the entire portfolio. It was yet another move that triggered a buying rush. Reports have it that Tokyo is now pretty much out of age statement Japanese whiskies, unless you visit bars or auction houses. Nikka's reasons for the radical new strategy are now familiar. They simply have no old stocks to sell. Decades ago, both local and world demand for Japanese malts was low, so few barrels were being laid down for extended periods. Stefan Van Eycken, writing for www.nonjatta.com explains "...there were years, at both Yoichi and Miyagikyo distillery, when the barrels laid down for maturation could be counted on the fingers of one hand. The ‘stock shortage’ is not an excuse or a PR stunt – it’s very real. Sources within Nikka have said that it is ‘likely’ that age-statement single malts will be brought back in 5 or 6 years’ time. No official statement to that effect has been made for the simple reason that doing so – in Japan – would be interpreted as a promise (which could come back to haunt them in 6 years’ time)." The dropping of age statements doesn't always translate into a drop in quality. Early reviews for both releases have been very positive. Evidently, Chief blender Tadashi Sakuma has risen to the challenge of creating a great assemblage from a restricted inventory.

Note - item is not guaranteed to come in a gift box. From the Hakushu distillery in the foothills of Mount Kaikomagatake comes their Distiller's Reserve single malt whisky. This drop displays the herbaceous and smoky characteristics known to their whiskies. The The Hakushu Single Malt Japanese Whisky - Distiller’s Reserve was produced with both heavily-peated and lightly-peated malts for a deep and complex whisky. On the nose there are hits of grassy notes, pine, and peppermint. It is rounded out with cucumber and melon. The palate has pops of citrus zest and mint. The whisky finishes long and smoky.

A 9 year old blended whisky from Chugoku Jozo's interesting Togouchi range. The producers create their expressions with whisky from both Scotland and Canada, and age it in a railway tunnel in Japan.

Yamazaki is often referred to as being the pioneer of Japanese Whisky and is Suntory's flagship single malt. This whisky is spiratual and deep, its signature multi-layered taste is highly praised by whisky connoisseurs around the world. The Distiller's Reserve is mild with fresh fruit, vanilla, cinnamon and Mizunara (Japanese oak). This is a must for any whisky lover.

White Oak Whisky Distillery have released two new whiskies in 2020 to celebrate the 101 year anniversary of receiving their licence to distil whisky (obtained in 1919). These releases are named after the parent company that established the White Oak Distillery - Eigashima Shuzo. The labelling and bottles are reminiscent of whisky of the time (101 years ago) and feature the old Eigashima logo and trademark. The Eigashima Single Malt Whisky is made from 100% UK Malt. It is a vatting of malt whiskies distilled between 2009 and 2014 aged in sherry casks.

Ichiro Akuto's most voluminous and accessible Whisky is, as it says on the label, a blend of Malt and Grain Whiskies. While the exact source of the material is not published, it's known it's a blend of Japanese distilled material vatted with Whiskies sourced from around the world. In addition to whisky from his own stocks--including, potentially, Hanyu and Karuizawa, as well as his own Chichibu--the blend contains spirits from Canada, the United States, Ireland and Scotland. The imported Whiskeys are 3-5-years-old, aged in their country of origin before being carefully blended with local Japanese material and matured a further 1-3 years at Chichibu. The Whisky is vatted in 2 x 5,000-litre wooden barrels built by French cooper Taransaud. Non-chill filtered, non-coloured, Chichibu Ichiro's Malt & Grain World Blended Whisky is a pure example of Akuto's whisky making expertise.