Cuvée presentation
Offered by Hombo Shuzo
La Minami-Satsuma Art Collection : la synesthésie du malt
The Tsunuki Distillery takes this one step further by turning it into a synesthetic exercise where the master blender crafts a whisky to complement a painting. Each edition celebrates the region’s heritage by showcasing a painting by an artist from the Kagoshima region.
Its distribution model makes it even more unique: the collection originated through Furusato Nozei, a Japanese civic tax system that lets contributors redirect a portion of their taxes to rural municipalities to support local crafts. Offered exclusively in return for donations to the town of Minami-Satsuma, these bottles are extremely rare outside of Japan.
Through the brushstrokes of local artists and the exacting standards of the master blender, Tsunuki proves that Japanese whisky can be an act of civic engagement, a tribute to the land, and a great work of sensory art all at once.
The trilogie of collections #02, #03 et #04
Shaped by Kagoshima’s extreme climate of sweltering summers and harsh winters, each release in the collection tells a distinct visual and flavor story. Release #01 is no longer available outside the distillery’s archives.
Collection #02: “Landscape with a Circuit Breaker", painted by Kenkichi Nishi in 1983
Echoing the visual depth of the painting, the distillery’s blender chose malts containing a high proportion of chocolate malt, aged exclusively in bourbon casks.
Collection #03: “Paradise”, painted by Mitsugu Shimomura
Inspired by a poetic composition depicting wild arrowroot (kudzu) flowering in the cool morning, this third collection celebrates finesse and botanical elegance. To reflect this, the master blender created a profile of crystalline freshness.
Collection #04: “Sakurajima”, painted by Mitsugu Shimomura - 49% ABV
Recently crowned the Best Japanese Small Batch Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards, this fourth collection marks the technical and artistic pinnacle of the series. Tsunuki’s master blender crafted this bespoke cuvée to capture all the raw power, serenity and vibrant energy emanating from the Sakurajima volcano in one glass.
The distillery Mars - Shinshu
Japan, Nagano. Distillery operational. Owner: Hombo Shuzo Co. Ltd.
Founded in 1985, Mars-Shinshu had been a distillery in-the-making since 1918. Its history has something of the “back to the future” about it. In 1918, Kijiro Iwai, director of Settsu Shozu, sent Masataka Taketsuru to Scotland to learn the basics of distillation. On his return in 1920, he found his employer at the head of a company that had gone adrift. Settsu Shozu was unable to follow through on its plans for a new distillery and in the end it was Shinjiro Torii (Suntory) that benefited from Taketsuru's experience first, using it to found the Yamazaki distillery. In 1960, Kijiro Iwai's son-in-law, then director of the Hombo company, decided to take up the challenge. Drawing on the experience of his father-in-law and Taketsuru's notes, he began distilling a robust, smoky malt at one of his wine and brandy production units in Yamanashi. Quite unsuited to the tastes of Japanese consumers at the time who were accustomed to more subtle flavours, it was a commercial failure. In 1978, however, he made a second attempt at the Kagoshima site, before finally deciding to open Mars-Shinshu in 1985. Caught up in the upheaval of a crisis in whisky consumption in Japan, the distillery ceased production in 1992. In 2011, following major restoration work, Mars-Shinshu then opened once again, this time for the long run.
Report a problem with this lot ? Report
