Mars is collaborating once again with Japanese artist Takahiro Kurashima in a limited edition series of single cask malts, for spirits house La Maison du Whisky’s (LMDW) 2025 "Foundations" catalogue.

Takahiro Kurashima is known for his kinetic inspired art. In last year’s collection, we saw Mars labels feature wave-like patterns that are meant to evoke the natural features of the whiskies' birthplace, Shinshu, Tsunuki and Yakushima.

Takahiro Kurashima. (Image Source: Lars Muller Publishers)

This year, we’ll see a 5-part series with a range of whiskies from Mars' Shinshu and Tsunuki distilleries, which are then aged either on-site or in the Yakushima ageing cellars. Once again, labels will feature geometric patterns that are inspired by the iconic architectural features of Mars’ distilleries, including Komagatake’s pagoda roof, Yakushima’s warehouses and Tsunuki’s tower, arranged in rosettes. Their pink, yellow, blue and ochre shades evoke the taste profile of the liquid.

Industrial architecture is a beauty sculpted by its functionality. It generally leaves little place for ornamentation or sophisticated shapes. I have a deep affection for the architecture of the distilleries I was inspired by.

The labels’ colour schemes were designed based on detailed information from each whisky’s aroma profile. To express the flavour nuances, we considered both the uniqueness and the unity of these five Mars expressions.

– Takahiro Kurashima, Artist and Designer

Komagatake 5 Years Old 2018 Komagatake

Japan, Single Malt, 62% ABV, Bourbon Barrel, 180 Bottles.

“First founded in 1985 and mothballed in 1992, the Komagatake distillery began distilling again in 2011, but only for a few months per year. Located in Miyada-mura, in the heart of the Japanese Alps, at an altitude of 798 metres, and with an average annual temperature of 8°C, it benefits from the perfect climate for ensuring the slow maturation of its single malts.

This bottling was made with Concerto barley and matured in an American white oak bourbon barrel, bestowing it with a strong personality that reveals intoxicating fruit, malt, mineral and balsamic tones enshrouded at all times in a light peat.”

Official Tasting Notes

Colour: greenish gold.

Nose: refined, precise. The aroma palette opens with a succession of fruit (kiwi, raspberry, pear, pineapple), honey, spice (cinnamon) and smoke (peated malt) sequences. Allowed to breathe, the register becomes more herbaceous (lucerne, pine) and menthol, and reveals notes of herbal infusions (green tea, black tea).

Palate: full-bodied, invigorating. With fruit (kiwi, peach, lemon) and balsamic (pine) flavours, the palate is particularly mineral (chalk). Equipped with mouth-watering salinity, it then focuses on malt (barley grain) and reveals delicious richness (Chelsea buns, brioche).

Finish: long, heady. Drawing out the palate, the finish is juicy and refreshing (melon, pineapple). It then becomes more creamy, with vanilla and salted butter caramel. Over time, a magnificent herbaceous (green barley) and liquorice bitterness softly envelops the taste buds.

Komagatake 5 Years Old 2019 Yakushima Aging

Japan, Single Malt, 59.8% ABV, Sherry Hogshead, 244 Bottles.

“In 2020, Hombo Shuzo carried out major renovation work on the Komagatake distillery. A new still room, a maturation warehouse with the capacity for approximately 2,500 casks and a brand new visitor centre were all added to the site.

This version is more ethereal than the single cask #4295 also found in our Foundations catalogue, and paints a gouache triptych of colourful sequences featuring patisseries, root vegetables and Oriental notes.”

Official Tasting Notes

Colour: deep gold.

Nose: rich, deep. The rich (roasted apple, Chelsea buns, tiramisu) and tangy (candied lemon) flavour palette is very nuanced. This duality is enhanced by noble spices (cardamom, cinnamon), cocoa powder and tropical fruits (pineapple).

Palate: full-bodied, distinguished. At first peppery and almost hot, the palate’s flavours quickly move into roasted coffee and tertiary notes (cashew, raisin, salted butter caramel). Rustic and malty, it then seems to dig deep into oily, root-laden earth.

Finish: sweet, silky. With Oriental influences, the tasting reveals an incredibly delicate texture. Gradually, a fine layer of salted butter caramel spreads across the sides of the palate and citrus fruit flavours (orange, grapefruit) bring acidity.

Tsunuki 4 Years Old 2020 Tsunuki Aging

Japan, Single Malt, 60.3% ABV, Virgin Oak Hogshead, 283 Bottles.

“When you first arrive at the Tsunuki distillery, which opened in 2016, it is impossible not to notice the immense, 26-metre black tower that still houses the column still that was used to produce shochu until the 1970s.

Through this expression matured in a Spanish oak cask, Mars brings us a single malt with a very strong personality. The palette of flavours and aromas is wonderfully oxidative, herbaceous and spicy, and clearly brings to mind Mortlach, one of Speyside’s most complex and authentic single malts.”

Official Tasting Notes

Colour: deep gold.

Nose: full, generous. Creamy aromas of sweet chestnut and Chantilly cream, along with more fruity, oxidative (orange, pomegranate, raisin) and herbaceous tones (Green Chartreuse) bring the aroma palette impressive richness and complexity. It then elegantly develops subtle notes of Havana cigar.

Palate: lively and creamy. The invigorating flavour palette wavers initially between oily (almond, cashew) and fruity (grenadine) flavours. Underscored by a lovely chocolate bitterness, it then lingers naturally on fresh herbs (thyme), pepper and malt.

Finish: elegant, voluptuous. Mustard seed, walnut, tobacco and a delicious pepper sauce are revealed on the nuanced and original finish. Banana, orange and more milky notes (salted butter) then take over the delicately empyreumatic flavour palette (apricot stone).

Tsunuki 4 Years Old 2020 Yakushima Aging

Japan, Single Malt, 58.2% ABV, Sherry Hogshead, 241 Bottles.

“The Tsunuki and Komagatake distilleries mature specially selected casks in a warehouse opened in 2016 on the island of Yakushima, in the very south of Japan. On this island where, according to a local proverb, it rains 35 days per month, temperatures range between 5°C in the winter and 35°C in the summer, resulting in an angels’ share as high as 9% per year.

This version distilled at Tsunuki began its maturation in Yakushima on 23 March 2020 and reveals a mature flavour and aroma palette that alternates between the wine-growing region of Jura and an Andalusian cellar. Oxidative, spicy and peppered with tertiary notes.”

Official Tasting Notes

Colour: orange copper.

Nose: deep, classic. The aroma palette is extremely complex and offers a succession of sequences that explore wonderfully oxidative notes (vin jaune, sherry vinegar, brandied cherries), oiliness (fresh walnut, pecan), spice (curry, ginger), chocolate and fruit (fig, date), each more breath-taking than the last.

Palate: stately, distinguished. The flavour palette is incredibly dynamic and reveals new fruits (Mirabelle plum, yellow peach, candied orange). It then bursts into honey, powdery notes (cocoa, ginger), infusions (bay leaf, vervain) and balsamic tones (resin, pine).

Finish: intense, smooth. At first, coconut milk, toffee, coriander, cherry and raisin highlight the flavour palette’s rich and generous character. We are then taken deep into an Andalusian cellar with the oxidative and rancio notes found on the nose.

Tsunuki 5 Years Old 2020 Tsunuki Aging

Japan, Single Malt, 58.5% ABV, Refill Bourbon Hogshead, 275 Bottles.

“Located in the Kagoshima Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū, the Tsunuki distillery draws its water from the surrounding mountains of Choya (513 m) and Kuraya (415 m).

This version was matured in American white oak casks for five years and shows us this single malt in a very nuanced and subtle light. With medium peat, gentle malt, and mineral and marine tones, the aroma palette is markedly different from Mars’ denser and more concentrated single cask #T1880 also found in this catalogue.”

Official Tasting Notes

Colour: deep gold.

Nose: refined, ethereal. At first, earth (clay), meat (leather) and malt (grist) feed into a very delicate peat. Mineral (stone) and sandy, iodine (sea spray) and vegetal (seaweed), the aroma palette is like a poetic walk along the beach under a spring sky.

Palate: silky, rich. The flavour palette is just as expressive, inviting us to savour a bite of salted chocolate. Increasingly rich, we are then treated to an orange liqueur, donuts, praline and hazelnut.

Finish: clean, generous. Overflowing with energy, the finish lingers on herbaceous (rosemary) and roasted (Espresso) tones. It then continues to become even richer (chocolate muesli, Mirabelle plum jam) and at the same time deeply malt, candied and mineral.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team