S. Divinus Barine
(한국어 시음기 밑에 있어요!)
For this review, I look at a spectacularly difficult to find single cask Japanese whisky from Mars Whisky.
While not as popular as Nikka or Suntory, Mars is one of the other whisky producers in Japan Their main whisky distillery is the Mars Shinshu distillery, which lays claim to being the highest whisky distillery in the world! They usually produce blends under the Iwai brand, and have a few single malts under the Komagatake brand, named after the mountain the distillery resides upon. On occasion they do however release special edition single cask malts under the branding Marsmalt - Le Papillon. On the final day of my trip to Osaka in October 2019, I got the chance to try the 2016 edition of this brand, S. Divinus Barine.
It’s aged for 4 years in a single American white oak cask and is bottled at a very nice 58% ABV.
Vitals:
ABV: 58%
Colour: Gold
Chill-filtered: No
Nose: On the nose, there’s an aromatic sandalwood and vanilla element that intermingles with the citrus sweetness of the young malt. Flowers and honey are also present, but the wood and vanilla dominate. 16/25
Palate: On the palate, it’s initially a tad astringent and dry with lots of wood, but it quickly opens up into a flowery and surprisingly delicate honey and vanilla sponge cake note, sprinkled with some cracked black pepper, cinnamon and the vaguest hint of jalapeno peppers as it goes down. Eventually,green apples and bananas appear as it draws to a close. Due to the high ABV and the youth of the spirit, this whisky can be quite spicy on the palate.. Some drops of water mellow this out and bring out more of the delicate vanilla and honey notes. 18.5/25
Finish: As it comes to its finish, it leaves a long and lingering fruity note that’s reminiscent of cinnamon spiced baked apples and roasted bananas. 19/25
Value*: Another "Nope" one. This has long since been discontinued so you won't find this outside of Japan or auction houses. N/A
Conclusion:
Overall, I liked this whisky and appreciated getting the chance to try it. I’ll be frank; it was to a degree very one-dimensional on the nose with its heavy wood notes, but to its credit, the palate improved as it progressed to the finish and I feel that proofing it down a little bit helps improve the flavour profile. It’s a decent cask strength whisky and it’s a shame this one has been long discontinued. However, as there was around 599 bottles produced, there should be at the very least a few bars in every Japanese city that have this on tap, so to speak. You've just gotta wait until COVID-19 has been dealt with.
Basic Rating: 71.3%
Price Adjusted Rating*: N/A
Daily Drinker: No, rare and pricey.
Possible pairing: Hard white cheese.
Where to find in Korea: Nope Nope Nope.
TLDR Version:
N: Sandalwood, vanilla, citrus → flowers, honey, more wood and vanilla.
P: Wood → flowers, honey, vanilla, black pepper, cinnamon, jalepeno peppers → apples and bananas.
F: Long and fruity, with cinnamon, apples and roasted bananas.
V: N/A
C: Decent cask strength whisky that benefits from the addition of water.
한국어 시음평:
향: 샌달우드, 바닐라, 감귤류 → 꽃, 꿀, 더 많은 우드와 바닐라 향.
맛 : 우드 → 꽃, 꿀, 바닐라, 후추, 계피, 할라피뇨 고추 → 사과와 바나나
끝맛: 계피, 사과, 구운 바나나. 피니시가 길어요. 과일향이 나요.
결론: 좋은 캐스크 스트렝스 위스키예요. 물을 넣어 달게 만들 수 있어요.
Buy / Mooch / Pass: Mooch
Review by Glasgowhisky
2020/08/01
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