Mars Whisky – History in a Bottle
Kiichiro Iwai and the Hombo family teamed up in 1949 to create Mars Whisky. However, when it was finally opened in 1960, Japanese consumers found it too smoky and heavy. The brand relocated the distillery to Nagano, a city high in the Japanese Alps which is abundant with glacial water. As a result of the relocation, the distillery produced softer, less peated whisky.
Currently, Mars Whisky is distilled in two distilleries and aged in three warehouses, each of which experiences a different climate. The brand continues to be owned and operated by Hombo Shuzo Company. The company remains a family business that hires workers from three generations of Humbo families.
What Makes Mars Whisky History so Special?
In the past, Iwai had distilled at Settsu Shuzo in Osaka. At the distillery, he was the direct superior of Masataka Taketsuru, who exhibited a special aptitude for distilling. Due to his merits, Iwai chose Taketsuru to study western whisky distillation in Scotland.
After returning to Japan, Taketsuru and Iwai were unable to establish a partnership on a distillery. Thus Taketsuru opened Nikka Whisky, the third whisky distillery in Japan. Twenty-five years later, Iwai opened Mars, the fourth distillery in Japan
Following World War II, Iwai was able to build his distillery with support from the Hombo family, naming it Mars in homage to the Roman god of war. Through the Taketsuru report, Iwai laid the foundations for future distilling
The Mars distillery was relocated from Miyada village in 1985 to the Nagano Prefecture. The new distillery was opened under the name Mars Shinshu, which has been renamed Mars Komagatake.
As the distillery relocated, the brand flourished, with Japanese drinkers flocking to the lighter style of whisky it produced. From 1985 to 1992, the distillery prospered, but during the Japanese economic collapse, the Hombo family closed it.
In 2011, it was finally reopened. Nineteen years later, it transitioned to a more contemporary approach to distilling single malts, becoming one of the few distilleries to use 100% Japanese oak washbacks.
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