About Mars
Mars Whisky is the Japanese whisky name from Hombo Shuzo, a Kagoshima drinks company with roots dating back to 1872. Hombo Shuzo obtained a whisky production licence in 1949 with the help of Kiichiro Iwai, later building a whisky distillery in Yamanashi in 1960 before the Mars name developed into one of Japan’s more distinctive whisky producers.
Mars now produces Japanese whisky through two main distillery sites: Mars Komagatake Distillery in Nagano, located at the foot of the Central Alps, and Mars Tsunuki Distillery in Kagoshima, the birthplace of Hombo Shuzo. Komagatake sits at 798 metres above sea level and is associated with cooler mountain maturation, while Tsunuki has a warmer southern climate and a long local history of shochu production. The portfolio includes single malts such as Komagatake and Tsunuki, blended malts such as Mars Maltage Cosmo, and blended whiskies including Iwai Tradition, with bourbon, sherry and wine casks used across different releases.