The Mars Shinshu

Mars Shinshu is the malt whisky distillery of Hombo Shuzo, a family drinks company from Kagoshima on Kyushu. It opened in 1985 at Miyata in Nagano Prefecture, high in the Central Alps between the Komagatake mountains, and is among the highest distilleries in Japan. After a quiet period from the early 1990s, it returned to production in 2011. Our catalogue places it in the Islands region, but the distillery is in central Honshu.

The cool mountain climate and soft granite-filtered water shape a clean, elegant spirit, and the large temperature swings between seasons give the casks a distinctive maturation. Hombo also ages some casks at its other sites, which is why buyers meet labels such as Shinshu Aging, Tsunuki Aging and Yakushima Ageing: the same family of whisky matured in very different climates, from the Alps to the subtropical south.

The main range is Komagatake Single Malt, released as yearly editions (2019, 2020, 2021 and so on), alongside limited bottlings such as the IPA Cask Finish and the Nature of Shinshu series named after local flowers, like Kohiganzakura and Shinanotanpopo. The Malt Duo blends Hombo's Tsunuki malt with whisky from Akkeshi in Hokkaido.

Almost all bottlings are official releases under the Mars and Komagatake names, occasionally as retailer exclusives. Independent bottlings are rare, as with most Japanese distilleries, and limited editions often sell out quickly.