One of the popular posts so far on this blog is the one on Mars Maltage Komagatake 10. A while ago, Dave (of The Whisky Dramalista) who is a whisky friend of mine saw it and mentioned he has the Komagatake 22 yo, so of course I wanted to taste it and compare it head to head with the 10 yo I own, so a samples swap was executed. Thanks Dave!

Unlike the 10 yo which is an integral part of the distillery core offering, the Mars Komagatake 22yo is limited edition of 1359 bottles from a vatting of two American White Oak casks (#1042 and #1039), an ex-sherry cask (#384) and a refill (ex-Scotch) cask (#481).

So how is the 22 yo compares to the 10 yo?

Mars Maltage ‘KOMAGATAKE’ 22 yo (43%, 1,359 bottles)

Nose: Despite the higher ABV than the younger 10yo sibling, the initial alcohol burst is tamed. It’s very fruity just like the younger sibling – red berries seems more dominant here (that sherry cask impact is strong here), less spicy than the 10yo, vanilla and some oak wood. This time we also get dried fruits and some leather – overall it does have the distinct mars profile, again, very similar to the 10yo but the extra age and the sherry cask are showing muscles here. Mars Maltage has great nose.

Palate: Smooth, oily and mouth coating. It’s a bit dry with very gentle spicy wood oak covered with berries marmalade mixed with nuts. Also vanilla and maybe some tobacco? – here’s where the younger sibling failed to deliver and this one is fantastic.

Finish: long one, lingering gentle wood and fruits.

Conclusion: Helluva of a dram! Without any doubt it’s better than the 10yo, delivering on all fronts. Too bad it’s almost impossible to get one of those, for 10,000YEN (about $103), it’s a great deal. if you see such a bottle – buy and drink it!

(And now I need to hunt for a sample of the 24 yo…)