At nearly 800 meters, set between the northern and southern Japanese Alps, Mars Shinshu is Japan’s highest whisky distillery. The Hombo family have distilled for more than a century, adding whisky to their repertoire in Kagoshima in 1949, then the southernmost whisky made in Japan, before moving production in 1984 to the alpine village of Miyada in Nagano, where high altitude and a cool climate favour whisky-making.
The distillery draws its water through granite rock, leaving it rich in natural minerals. Its Iwai whiskies honour Kiichiro Iwai, The Silent Pioneer of Japan Whisky, mentor to Masataka Taketsuru, whom he sent to Scotland to learn the craft.
Iwai Tradition, a malt-driven blend aged in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and ex-wine casks with delicate hints of peat, stands as a balanced, layered tribute to its namesake.
