Nose: Sherry, grapefruit, wood stain, an earthy note, dried mixed citrus peel, dried pears, tobacco.
Palate: Well the tobacco is still present but you wouldn’t think you were tasting the same whisky you have been nosing. Candy coated nuts, earthy peat, marzipan, white peaches, cashews, a mix of sweet and savory spices, tinned plums, menthol. Really quite moreish, I kept pouring more drams while writing up these notes.
Finish: Tobacco, earthy peat, cashews and menthol.
Last Word: A well sorted blend of old and new stock and different cask types. Doesn’t really give any clues to the distiller as it is not like any previous offering from Mars Whisky I have tasted before.
Rating: 87/100
Hi there
Thank you for all the informative reviews – the cheapest i’ve seen this around here is about GBP 100 – any thoughts on buying at that pricing ?
Hi,
One man’s value is another man’s rip off. To buy it cheaper you would need to go to Japan.
Thank you
Hi Brian, I hope you are well.
I just had some of this arrive, but I have not yet tried it – it sounds pretty good.
In the same shipment I received some Iwai Tradition Wine Cask Finish.
It is a new bottling & instead of the casks being from “Hinoshiro Vineyard”, the bottles now say “Yamanashi Mars Winery”.
Have you tried the new bottling? If so, how does it compare with the original (tasty) bottling?
I also bought some Yamazaki LE 2015, so I have some interesting bottles to try!
Hi Alan,
Haven’t tried the new wine cask finish so will look forward to your opinion especially if you have some of the old bottle to taste side by side. Also will be interested in your thoughts on the Rindo and the Yama LE 2015.
Wishing you a great and safe Easter to you and your family
Brian
Likewise, Brian – have a great Easter!
It’s finally cooled down in Melbourne, so excellent whisky tasting weather!
Hi do you think this one is worth collecting? How is it againdy the revival 2011? Thanks
Hi Eric,
I have been asked about Mars whisky for collecting before. There is a difference between buying to drink and collecting. There are some Mars that have gone up quite a lot in price but these are Single Cask/Vintage cask whiskies or the Mars 3 Plus 25. You can usually tell which bottles are considered more collectible upon release. These are the ones that sell at retail for one price but when they are sold out(usually within a few days) they resell for 3-4 times the price. This does not happen with non Single/Vintage Cask Mars Whiskies yet and has not happened with the Rindo which is still readily available at resale in Japan for the same as the release price. I can say that although there are some pretty big differences in the palate profile between the Revival and the Rindo they are both fine whiskies in there own right. At this stage it’s a buy to drink proposition.
A caveat is that like Chichibu, new releases from Mars or even Akashi are a good opportunity to start putting a collection together from earlyish on in production. New Chichibu do tend to go up in price fairly quickly though in comparison. The Akkeshi Distillery should come on line sometime this year so consider picking up some of their stuff if you can get it. I do not think any of these distilleries will ever have large production runs.
Thank you for the reply. Very interestingļ¼
I will definitely keep an eye out for this.
I love your reviews and hope you can continue on.
Trying to source a bottle of the Chichibu The Peated 2011 bottle as you noted that it was really good! Again, appreciate your feedback.