Mars Cosmo is aged in Sherry, Bourbon, and American white oak casks. Cosmo, is the name of a mountain in the Japan Central Alps, closed to the Mars Shinshu distillery. This is a limited bottling of Cosmo, which has been extra-seasoned in red wine casks. Shiny ruby red colour is extracted from red wine casks. On the nose, fruitiness and warm spiciness are present. It has a soft round mouth feel, and Umami from the red wine cask interact very well with Cosmo's ripe fruit character with vanilla and cinnamon flavours as a result of further maturation in red wine casks. A long finish with elegant tannins and black tea.

Yamazakura Fine Blended Japanese Whisky was created by Sasanokawa Shuzo Co, a Japanese spirits company originating in 1765 who makes sake and schochu. This fine blended whisky release is a blend comprising of the companies best distillations to date. Small, local, with huge flavours and ideas.

A blend from Chugoku Jozo, who mature their whiskies in a tunnel rather than a warehouse. The temperature of the tunnel is always 15 degrees while the temperature of the cellar at the headquarters in Hatsukaichi city is a little higher than that. This blend includes a sublte peated component.

Shinobu Whisky is hand crafted by the creative distiller, Mr. Usami, by carefully selecting whisky from around the world which are first reserved in ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks and then finishing them with precious Japanese Mizunara oak in Japan. The result is a unique fusion of flavours and dynamic explosion in palate yet so smooth and easy to drink. All natural with no colouring.

Mars Iwai Tradition Japanese Whisky is soft and rounded, yet full bodied and mellow. The nose gives sweet honey, leading to a complex, peaty full bodied palate which gives sweet peat, orange marmalade, maple, burnt sugar cane, cedar and cigar.

Nicks import pricing. Elsewhere pay $190. Fuyu means "Winter" in Japanese. This three year old blend is a run of around 6000 bottles made from 50% malt and 50% corn plus a little wheat from Honshu island. Initially aged in American oak barrels, before bottling it was transferred into Mizunara casks for six months, adding those elusive characteristics that makes this wood prized (and expensive). Suntory began to experiment with Japanese Oak ( Quercus mongolica ) after the Second World War when supplies of foreign oak were difficult to source. It made a far from ideal vessel: Mizunara's loose grains tended to cause leakage, and also created challenges in terms of timber selection and cooperage. Blenders at the time had few kind words to say about the wood. It's scarcer than European and American oak, notoriously expensive, and to top it off, the trees are harvested at around 200 years old (compared to around 75 for American/European oak). For drinkers, the obvious question is "Does Mizunara oak give a distinctive flavour to whisky?" The consensus is that it tends to offer a more definite coconut aroma. Other sources suggest the wood contributes attractive sandalwood notes. According to the producers, in this bottling, expect notes of coconut, caramel, smoke, and cooked fruit. 45% Alc./Vol.

Mars Shinshu was founded in 1949 but didn’t start making whisky until their distillery was nestled high in the Japanese Alps in 1985. This is a limited release Mars Iwai Tradition blended whisky released in 2021 that has spent extra time maturing in Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks which give a delicious sweetness to the whisky. Pedro Ximenez is a Spanish white grape variety, and this sherry is well known for its intense sweetness as a dessert-style sherry. Showing lovely amber colour with sweet notes such as brown sugar, maple syrup on the nose. It has a smooth mouthfeel and rich texture with sweet honey burned sugar cane and sweet peat on the palate. A distinctive rich full body finishes with cacao and a hint of bitter chocolate. Complex and well-balanced whisky.

Nikka Session Blended Malt Whisky is the first brand new Nikka in six years! This drop beings a world blend of malts from the Miyagiko, Yoichi, and Ben Nevis distilleries. Nikka Whisky purchased the Ben Nevis Distillery in 1989 and have been using components in many Nikkas Whiskies since. This release from Nikka has aromas of pineapples, apples, blackcurrant, pears and leafy mint. Across the palate the fruit has dried up, leading us instead to peppercorn and a healthy serving of woody malt, of course. The malt wave continues to the finish with heaps of dark chocolate malt bitterness. Slightly peaty at the end.

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.

Matsui Sakura Cask Single Malt Japanese Whisky is single malt whisky distilled in the rich, natural environment of Tottori and aged in cherry wood casks. Combined with the malt aroma and bitter flavour of unblended whisky, a faint, sweet, crisp smell of cherry blossom spreads throughout the mouth. This masterpiece, carefully crafted with heart and passion, is brought to proof with high-quality natural spring water from Mt. Daisen.