The distillates from Mars Shinshu Distillery and Mars Tsunuki Distillery are matured in the Yakushima aging cellar owned by Mars. This blended malt Japanese whisky is blended mainly with bourbon barrels.
The sea breezes from the coast to the east of the cellar give it a flavor reminiscent of tropical fruits. The release date is late June 2022. Lottery applications have started on the official website.
1. About the lottery application
Lottery applications have started on the official Hombo Shuzo website.
Click here for the application page.
Application period: Tuesday, June 28, 10:00 a.m.
Lottery results: Winners will be notified on July 1 (Fri.) to the e-mail address they entered during the application process.
2. MARS The Y.A. #01
Image Exhibit: Yakushima-aged whisky brand “MARS The Y. A.” newly launched (hombo.co.jp)
Product Name | MARS The Y.A. #01 |
|---|---|
| Sake type | Blended malt Japanese whisky |
| Ingredients | Malt |
| Barrel type | Mainly Bourbon Barrel |
| Number of bottles | Limited to 12,000 bottles |
| Strength | 52% (with a minimum of 2,000 bottles) |
| Price | Suggested retail price: 9,900 yen (tax included) |
| Production | Mars Shinshu Distillery Mars Tsunuki Distillery |
| Produced by | Hombo Shuzo Co. |
3. About Yakushima Aging Cellar
Yakushima, a World Natural Heritage island, is located about 60 km south-southwest of the Kagoshima mainland.
The cellar was completed in June 2016 in this land of rich nature, abundant water, high temperatures, and humidity, where Kyushu’s highest peak, Miyanoura-dake, is said to be the Alps floating above the sea. Currently, the company owns two aging warehouses.
There are no distilling facilities here, only aging rooms, where the original sake distilled at the Mars Shinshu distillery and the original sake distilled at the Mars Tsunuki distillery are stored.
Matured on Yakushima Island, the sweet, spicy flavor and concentrated tropical fruitiness are produced due to the more active extraction of oak wood components compared to cooler climates.
4. About Mars Shinshu Distillery
The Honbo Brewery, which had been striving to make “Shochu”, a Japanese distilled spirit, in Kagoshima, obtained a license to produce whisky in 1949. Since then, the company has held on to the dream of “someday making real whisky that takes full advantage of the Japanese climate”.
After several years of whisky production in Kagoshima, in 1960, he established the Mars Yamanashi Winery, a factory for wine and whisky production in Yamanashi. Then, in order to engage in whisky production in earnest, he searched for an even more ideal location.
The natural conditions for whisky making are very demanding: cold climate with clean air, moderate humidity, and good quality water.
In 1985, the Mars Shinshu Distillery was established at an altitude of 798 meters at the foot of Komagatake Mountain in the Central Alps of Nagano Prefecture, in search of land that met these conditions and the best environment for whisky making.
In 1992, distillation was suspended due to sluggish demand for whisky. In 2009, when Japanese whisky was beginning to gain worldwide recognition and demand for whisky was recovering, the distillery decided to resume distilling and started again in February 2011.
In September 2020, the distillery underwent a complete renewal for the first time in 35 years. The investment will be approximately 1.2 billion yen.
From May 2019, a new whisky distillation building (including a barrel cellar) will be built to renovate aging facilities, improve the barrel cellar facilities with an eye to increasing whisky production, and provide tours of the whisky making process, as well as a visitor building to sell original whisky and goods.
The new whisky distillation building has a total floor area of 1,996m2 (including the barrel cellar, which will hold approximately 2,500 barrels), and the visitor’s building has a floor area of 746m2.
Reference: Hombo Brewery official website
■Production capacity: 1.1 tons of malted barley per day
■Brewing capacity: approximately 700L/day, approximately 185KL/year (planned for FY2020)
■Main facilities: 1 malt crusher, 1 mash tun reuter (saccharification tank) 6KL, 3 stainless steel fermentation tanks 6KL, 3 Douglas fir wooden fermentation tanks (relocated) 6KL, first distillation kettle (relocated)
5. About Mars Tsunuki Distillery
“Tsunuki“ is located in Kaseda, Minamisatsuma City. Mars Tsunuki Distillery, the southernmost whisky distillery on the mainland
, is located in a mountainous area full of greenery in the southwest of Satsuma Peninsula.
Tsunuki, located in the southwestern part of the Satsuma Peninsula, is in a long basin along the Kaseda River, a tributary of the Manose River. Surrounded by Mt. Kurata (475m) to the east and Mt. Nagaya (513m) to the west, the basin-like topography makes the summers hot and the winters cold, which are extremely severe in South Satsuma.
The area has a natural environment that is a “blessing from nature” with good water resources (Mt. Kurata spring water), and is known as “Tsunuki Mikan” (mandarin orange), which is cultivated by making effective use of the mountain slope.
Blessed with a mild climate and good water resources, Tsunuki is the birthplace of the Honbo Sake Brewery. It has been more than 100 years since the brewery started making shochu using “Satsuma sweet potatoes”, one of Satsuma’s representative specialties.
Reference: Mars Tsunuki Distillery official website
6. Yakushima aged products released in the past
6-1. Single Malt Komagatake Yakushima Aged 2014
Image Exhibit: Single Malt Komagatake Yakushima Aged 2014｜hombo.co.jp
Released mid-December 2017. Limited to 1,100 bottles. Price: 9,900 yen including tax.
6-2. Single malt Komagatake Yakushima Aging Bottled in 2019
Released in early April 2019. Limited to 1,760 bottles. Price 9,900 yen including tax.
6-3.Single Malt Komagatake Yakushima Aged Bottled in 2020
Released in late March 2020. Limited to 3,012 bottles. The price is 9,460 yen including tax.
6-4. Single Malt Komagatake Yakushima Aged Bottled in 2021
Released in late March 2021. Limited to 5,208 bottles. The price is 9,680 yen including tax.
https://en.jpwhisky.net/2021/04/01/single-malt-komagatake-yakushima-aging-2021-2/
Lastly: Recommended Books on Japanese Whisky
If you want to learn more about Japanese whisky, which is a global trend, we highly recommend these books.
(1).Whisky Galore Vol.29 December 2021 issue
In the December 2021 issue of Whisky Galore, published by the Whisky Culture Research Institute, we report on 11 Japanese craft distilleries, including some that are open to the public for the first time, under the title of “Japanese Whisky Craft Frontline,” the first of three consecutive issues. Why did the popularity of Japanese whisky and the craft boom occur? We will examine with interviews. Chichibu Distillery / Chichibu No.2 Distillery / Mars Shinshu Distillery / Mars Tsunuki Distillery / Kanosuke Distillery / Hioki Distillery / Ontake Distillery / Osuzuyama Distillery / Kaikyo Distillery / Hanyu Distillery / Konosu Distillery
(2). Japanese Whisky as an Education for Business
This is a book written by Mamoru Tsuchiya, a world-famous whisky critic and representative of the Whisky Culture Research Institute, titled “Japanese Whisky as a Culture that Works for Business” .
The book covers the basics of whisky, the introduction of whisky to Japan, the birth of Japanese whisky, advertising strategies and the rise of Japanese whisky, and the current rise of craft distilleries. This is a book that summarizes Japanese whisky in a very easy to understand way.
(3). Whisky and I (Masataka Taketsuru)
Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, devoted his life to brewing whisky in Japan. This is a revised and reprinted version of the autobiography of a man who simply loved whisky and talked about himself. The book vividly depicts the days when he went to Scotland alone to study as a young man and overcame many hardships to complete Japanese whisky, as well as his companion, Rita.
(4). A Letter of Challenge from a New Generation Distillery
Launching in 2019. With the world experiencing an unprecedented whisky boom, what were the managers of craft distilleries thinking and what were their thoughts as they took on the challenge of making whisky? This book tells the stories of 13 craft distillery owners, including Ichiro Hido of Venture Whisky, famous for his Ichirose Malt, who inspired the birth of craft distilleries in Japan.
(5). Whiskey Rising
This is the Japanese version of Whisky Risng, published in the US in 2016, with much updated content. Not only does it describe the history of Japanese whisky in detail, but it also includes data on all the distilleries in Japan, including the craft distilleries that have been founded in recent years. The book also includes descriptions of the legendary bottles that have been released, as well as information on bars where Japanese whisky can be found.
