Mars Iwai

My God, this whiskey smells terrible. I'm not sure what others detect, but to me, it's like sharpies and rubbing alcohol. Without a doubt, the worst-smelling swill I've ever encountered. Fortunately, the flavor is not nearly as offensive as the aroma. It lacks depth and tastes very inexpensive. However, cheap spirits can either be tasteless (watered down) or have an offensive alcohol burn. This has neither. It has a light flavor that clearly blends cheaper malts. There's a strong corn presence, but a strange sourness emerges near the end. It leaves a peculiar numbing sensation going down, and the aftertaste reminds me of the sourness from sipping warm cola. Is it the worst in this price range? No, not at all. But to say there are much better options between $30 and $40 a bottle is a massive understatement. You could do worse, but many, many better choices exist.

The nose is incredibly light, and it's hard to discern flavors beyond cinnamon, sweet caramel, and light pear, with a mild ethanol burn. The taste mirrors the nose's lightness, featuring a thin mouthfeel with notes of pear, cinnamon, caramel, and icing sugar, accompanied by a mild ethanol burn. The short finish has a slight bitterness with caramel, icing sugar, and light pear. This is an uninspired whisky with faint sugary and fruity notes. It's better than a specific Mars Lucky Cat expression, but only because it lacks bitter, earthy flavors. At around $30, it's a much better value than that Mars bottle and could be useful in your collection to protect your better bottles from guests who ask for your "smoothest" whisky and then make it vanish. This can be described as sugary alcoholic water. Many thanks to a friend for the generous sample.

[APPEARANCE] Pale gold. [AROMA] A subtle malty and nutty aroma, with sweet barley, toasted almonds, faint caramel, and a surprising hint of vanilla bean and oak. It's well-balanced and rounded. [TASTE] Grainy and cereal-forward, with intriguing airy and zesty fruit candy notes on the mid-palate, transitioning into a [FINISH] somewhat toothpick-like, woody, and rough finish. [MOUTHFEEL] Quite substantial until the late palate/finish, where the light body and low alcohol content succumb to the prominent oak and youthfulness. It's not a terrible whisky, but I wouldn't spend more than $30-35 on it. It might do well in a highball or as an unexpected choice in a club whisky blind tasting. I generally don't review anymore, but it's Thanksgiving.

Flaviar advent calendar day #14 Nose: Vanilla is prominent, with very mild, indistinct floral and fruity notes. Salted nuts are also present, along with a hint of oak and malt. Palate: Caramel, spiced bitter oak, vanilla, a touch of brown sugar and chocolate. There's a hint of orange peel and a slight apple cinnamon note. I detect a subtle menthol as it opens up. A mild ethanol note is also present. Finish: Mild heat, bitter oak, thin texture, with hints of cocoa.

The nose is medicinal corn, almost sharp. The palate has a slight sweetness. This is unmistakably a corn whiskey throughout. The corn isn't overwhelming and lacks the spice of a bourbon. It's not complex, but it's drinkable and worth the cost. I wish it were more complex or offered more than a single note, but it still tells a complete story.

This leaves me pondering. With every taste, I questioned its identity. It reminded me of Brandy (no offense to Brandy). Initial aroma: savory notes of caramel, rich toffee, butterscotch, with a perfume of pear. The perfume hits first on the palate, followed by a spicy mouthful of robust clove, and an oily, medicinal finish. I still can't quite place this whiskey.