Japanese Whisky

Limited edition pure malt Japanese whisky distilled at Komagatake Distillery (fka Mars Shinshu) in Nagano and Tsunuki Distillery in Kagoshima, and matured at the Mars Yakushima Aging Cellar on Yakushima Island, Japan
The 6th release in the Mars Bakemono series, which highlights illustrations from the famous Bakemono Zukushi “Monster” Scroll, an illustrated text (emaki) from Japan’s Edo Period (17th–19th centuries) by an unknown artist featuring various yōkai (magical creatures from Japanese folklore)
Vatting of Cask #2009 and #2283 distilled at Mars Komagatake and Mars Tsunuki distilleries
100% malted barley lightly peated to an average of 3.5 ppm and twice distilled in copper pot stills
Aged 5–6 years in separate ex-bourbon barrels at the Mars Yakushima Aging Cellar before blending and bottling; distilled in March 2018 and April 2019 and bottled in May 2024
Non-chill filtered; 55% ABV
The sixth release in Mars’s Bakemono series, and the second that was matured at the Yakushima Aging Cellar (denoted by the initials “Y.A.”), this pure malt vatting depicts Nobusuma, a bat- or flying-squirrel-like creature that inhabits forests and is thought to be a tanuki, or shape-shifting creature. Though many tanuki were depicted as comical after the Edo Period, they were originally thought to be quite sinister; the Nobusuma, for instance, is known for attacking travelers’ faces and sucking their blood. No matter the intentions of this tanuki, it makes a compelling mascot for a blend that also represents multiple concepts, combining distillate produced by two separate master distillers in Nagano and Kagoshima before being matured and blended on Yakushima Island, a UNESCO Heritage Site where constant rainfall and subtropical temperatures place their own stamp on the whiskies of Mars.

Limited edition single cask single malt Japanese whisky produced at Mars Tsunuki Distillery in Kagoshima, Japan
The 5th release in the Mars Bakemono series, which highlights illustrations from the famous Bakemono Zukushi “Monster” Scroll, an illustrated text (emaki) from Japan’s Edo Period (17th–19th centuries) by an unknown artist featuring various yōkai (magical creatures from Japanese folklore)
Cask #T719
100% malted barley peated to 50 ppm and twice distilled in copper pot stills
Aged 5 years 11 months in an unspecified ex-sherry hogshead; distilled in June 2018 and bottled in May 2024
No added coloring
Non-chill filtered; 60% ABV
This is the fifth release in Mars’s Bakemono series and the second to come from the Mars Tsunuki Distillery in southern Kagoshima. It depicts a creeping old man named Mi-no-kedachi, or “standing up body hair.” This unsettling, hunched grandpa is theorized to be a spirit of fear or fret. Best shake off the shivers with a dram of full-bodied, peated whisky.

The Bakemono Zukushi, or "Monster Scroll" can be traced to Japan's Edo period in the 18th or 19th century. The scroll depicts an array of Japanese yokai (spirits) who are taken from the country's local folk lore. The fourth edition of this series features a single unpeated New American Oak hogshead cask from the Komagatake Distillery in Nagano that depicts the large snakelike creature Sarahebi. Also known as a "Nure-onna" not much is known about these mysterious spirits who were thought to come from the sea and rivers.

The US Edition 2024 is an exciting new single malt whisky made by the Chichibu Distillery exclusively for the United States. With every year comes a wildly different version of this whisky than its predecessor and the 2024 is no different. This unpeated single malt is vatted from 16 distinct barrels ranging from 4 to 10 years of age that were matured in 15 ex-bourbon and 1 refilled sherry hogshead barrel. Two of the ex-bourbon barrels contained whisky that was floor malted at Chichibu, a practice that is uncommon even amongst many Scottish contemporaries for its laborious, less efficient nature. However, this process is nothing less than iconic to Chichibu, as this whisky exemplifies what the distillery does best - create layers of complex fruit, spice, and confectionary flavors that come together harmoniously in one beautiful expression.

Since opening in 2016, the Tsunuki Distillery has been garnering plenty of attention and snatching down awards for their incredible Japanese Single Malts. The Tsunuki 2024 is now the 5th main release coming from the distillery and continues to refine the deep, expressive flavor that they have become known for. This edition marks the first inclusion Virgin Spanish Oak casks as the primary maturation vessel. Supported by ex-bourbon barrels, as well as sherry casks, this latest edition yields beautifully complex aromatics of strawberry jam, orange leather, and red bean pastry. Classic Tsunuki flavors of bitter chocolate, black tea, and pastry cream are complimented with fresh notes of blackberries and juicy oranges. The brilliant finish is full of bittersweet cocoa, camp smoke, and lemon peels.

Hibiki Blender's Choice Japanese Whisky

Limited-edition, single cask single malt Japanese whisky produced at Mars Tsunuki Distillery in Kagoshima, Japan Selected by Tokiwa Imports as a US-exclusive release Cask #T1185; the 2nd cask in the Mars Bakemono Series (released 2023) 100% malted barley, lightly peated (average 3.5 ppm) Aged a minimum of 4 years; distilled in April 2019 and bottled in June 2023 Aged exclusively in an ex-bourbon barrel

Cask #2 in the Bakemono Zukushi “Monster” Scroll-inspired series depicts Daichiuchi, the earthquake maker! This mohawked monster has a bird-like face and wields a mallet—a forceful creature that makes a fitting mascot for this robust, peaty single cask whisky distilled at Mars Tsunuki.

Tasting Notes,

Nose: A creamy nose of tapioca pudding and French vanilla

Palate: Dehydrated green apple, pear flesh, and spikes of peat with a long finish of salted pastry crust, black-pepper-encrusted charcuterie, and extinguished campfire

Suntory Kansha 100th Anniversary is a limited edition Japanese single malt whisky that was bottled in 2023 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the House of Suntory:

• Japanese single malt whisky
• 43% abv
• Comes with a Suntory branded glass 
  

The House of Suntory is a Japanese brewing and distilling company that was founded in 1899 by Shinjirō Torii. Suntory is considered one of the founding fathers of Japanese whisky.

*180ml*

Chichibu Distillery has its roots all the way back to the 1940s when Ichiro’s family started producing whisky at Hanyu Distillery. Eventually, the downturn of whisky in the 1990s forced Hanyu to close its doors. Ichiro still releases some of the Hanyu whisky under the Playing Card series. This whisky has become legendary alongside the whisky produced at his now-owned distillery, Chichibu. In 2008 he built his current distillery and has quickly become a Japanese Whisky fan favorite. TASTE US-exclusive blend of malt and grain whiskies vatted and matured by Chichibu Distillery in Saitama, Japan – Whiskies include Scotch, Canadian rye, American whiskey, Irish whiskey, and Ichiro’s Japanese single malt – Aged 4–17 years in a combination of cask types including ex–Bourbon and ex–rye whiskey barrels Brand Tasting Notes: Sweet aromas of cola, shortbread, and tobacco precede a palate highlighting candied orange and dried pineapple with subtle peat smoke on a finish flush with tropical fruit and sea salt.

Karuizawa is the gold standard of rare Japanese whisky.

The distillery closed its doors in 2011, although it had not been producing whisky for over a decade. This particular discontinued 12 years old whisky 2001 won a Gold Medal in the Best Whisky of IWSC.

The Yamazaki Whisky is Suntory's flagship single malt whisky, from Japan’s first and oldest malt distillery. With a range of options from Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve to 12, 18, and 25 years old, all of these prized whiskies contain carefully blended components aged in American, Spanish, and Japanese Mizunara oak.

Founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii, Yamazaki is Japan's first bona fide whisky distillery. Sitting in between Osaka and Kyoto - served by the converging rivers of Katsura, Uji, and Kizu - the stills are varied in shape, size, lyne arm position and some are direct-fired while others are steam-heated. All of which allows for a creation of many different styles of spirit destined for blending as well as bottling as single malt.

An older expression of the excellent Yamazaki whisky. Fully matured in sherry casks for 25 years.

Age: 25 Years Old

43% ABV

700ml

A pure malt whisky that is characterized by the deep and flavorful richness with excellent balance that is unique to its age. A blend of rich ripe fruit and aged cask on the nose with complex changes in character as the finish approaches.

*Only 182 Bottles were made.*

From its Mizunara wash backs and small stills with steep lyne arms to the fact that the mashman uses a wooden paddle to stir the mash, Chichibu is a hands-on distillery with quality as an intrinsic focus. With the ground now broken on a blending room, and an off-site cooperage, Ichiro Akuto's distillery - formed from the ashes of his grandfather's Hanyu distillery - is one of the finest producers in Japan. With the perfect climate of humid summers and cold winters, Chichibu is an ideal location for whisky production and has become a huge part of the Japanese whisky revolution.

The first bottles from the Chichibu Intergalactic Series were released in 2019 with the labels and idea coming from Dutch bar owner, Werry van Leeuwen, and Vienna Distribution immediately chose to progress with the two-cask set. The labels feature retro Sci-Fi illustrations. When the bottles were put up for online sale, they sold out in seconds!

Edition #1
Distilled: 2012
Bottled: 2019
Cask Type: 3rd Fill Bourbon Barrel
Cask Number: 2112
63.5% ABV / 70cl

 A 31-year-old Karuizawa single malt, matured in a single sherry cask for more than three decades before being bottled by Elixir Distillers exclusively for The Whisky Exchange's Karuizawa Geishas series. The bottle features a label designed by our creative director Raj Chavda, paying homage to the exquisite, inaccessible beauty of the meiko on her way to become geisha. 

Tasting Notes
Billy Abbott, The Whisky Exchange

Nose

Thick chocolate sauce and leather, with seaweedy umami, rich riverbank loam and singed raisins. Sweeter and lighter notes of minty dark chocolate and glacé cherries develop in the glass along with hints of menthol and blackcurrant. Mint fondant wrapped in chocolate builds before fading slowly to reveal old damp oak boards, polished oak tables and rich forest-floor earthiness.
Palate

A burst of dark brown sugar sweetness is balanced by deep earth and oak savouriness before mint and menthol burst through the middle. Bittersweet chocolate and dried cherries sit alongside cigar-box cedar and damp tree bark. Intense dried-fruit notes build: rich dates and prunes with sweet raisins and sultanas. Lighter fruit emerges, with dried pineapple and baked apples heavily dusted with cinnamon and brown sugar.
Finish

Aromatic incense, cedar and polished oak provide a base for cherries, mixed berries, mint chocolate chips and chocolate-covered Seville oranges. The fruit fades away to leave bittersweet molasses and fragrant bark.

100th Anniversary Limited Edition. Representing a mastery of the art of blending, this delicate balance of several malt and grain whiskies is meticulously crafted to create a full orchestra of flavors and aromas in celebration of 100 years of Suntory Whisky.

ENHANCED BY MIZUNARA OAK
In celebration of a century of Japanese whisky, Chief Blender ​Shinji Fukuyo and his team of blenders challenged ​themselves to rethink the Art of Blending for Hibiki. They chose to use of the legendary Mizunara oak as a sign of respect for Japanese heritage, rather than the more traditional sherry cask. The final blend is an exploration of how ​a single detail can alter the whole alchemy, creating this extraordinary whisky.

COLOR
Tender gold

Nose
NOSE
Refined and elegant with top notes of kumquat and jasmine, and a hint of soothing Japanese incense

Palate
PALATE
Subtly sweet floral flavor and parfum as the harmony elongates to introduce spiced Japanese sandalwood and agarwood notes

Finish
FINISH
Long and deep with undernotes of spiced Mizunara woodiness