Mars Komagatake Distillery is Hombo Shuzo's whisky distillery in Miyada Village, Nagano, opened in 1985 at 798 metres at the foot of Mt. Komagatake.1,2,3 It was silent from 1992 to 2011 and took its current name on 1 March 2024.1,4,5 Its first pot stills, designed by Kiichiro Iwai, came from Hombo Shuzo's Yamanashi plant, which began distilling malt whisky in 1960.1,2,6
An ultra-rustic whisky with smoked ham, grilled bacon and lively peat, turning bitter, dry, herbal and austere on the palate.
apple
bacon
bitter
black pepper
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Silent, 1992–2011
Producing, 2011–today
Name
Mars Shinshu Distillery, 1985–2024
Mars Komagatake Distillery, 2024–today
19852000Today
From Yamanashi to the Alps
Yamanashi stopped distilling in 1972, and whisky stayed a side business for Hombo Shuzo until 1985.1,6,7 In 1984 Hombo Shuzo paused malt whisky distillation in Kagoshima to bring it together at the new plant in Shinshu.1,8 In 1985 it moved the Yamanashi stills and its whisky licence to Miyada Village, seeking a better natural setting for making whisky.1,2,3
Silent
1992–2011
In 1992, after a 1989 tax change and falling demand, it stopped distilling whisky, and Hombo Shuzo focused on selling its stored malt.1,4,9 Until then, the plant had made whisky only in winter, because it also made other spirits such as brandy.1,4,9 Hombo Shuzo decided in 2009 to restart, and distilling began again in February 2011, after 19 years.1,2,8
New stills and washbacks
By 2014 the copper in Iwai's stills had worn down to about 1 mm, so Hombo Shuzo had the Japanese company Miyake Seisakusho make copies of the same shape.2,8,10 The new stills are heated by steam kettles instead of steam coils.2,8,10 In 2016 fermentation was lengthened from 3 days to 4 to strengthen ester aromas.9 In 2018 it added 3 wooden washbacks, the tanks where fermentation happens, because its iron ones, used since the 1960s, had worn badly.7,8,9
Rebuilt and renamed
A renovation costing about 1.2 billion yen, completed on 10 September 2020, added a new still house with a cask warehouse and a visitor building.2,8,11 It also brought a new mash tun and stainless steel washbacks, which replaced the iron ones.2,8,11 On 1 March 2024 Hombo Shuzo renamed it from Mars Shinshu Distillery to match its Single Malt KOMAGATAKE whisky.1,5,9
How it makes its spirit
It has one wash still for the first distillation and one spirit still for the second.6,8
Next: Rebuilt and renamed, How it makes its spirit
The wash still cools its vapour in a shell and tube condenser, and the spirit still in a worm tub, another kind of condenser that turns vapour back into spirit.8,9,12
It has 6 washbacks, the tanks where fermentation happens: three wooden, of Douglas fir, and three stainless steel.6,8,10
Fermentation lasts 72 to 96 hours, and the makers aim for a light, fruitier style of whisky.6
Its water comes from a well 120m below the distillery, filtered through granite.6,8,12
Some of its malt is peated, up to 50ppm, and it also uses unpeated malt.8,9,13
Its spirit ages on site in racked warehouses, where casks sit in racks 5 tiers high, mostly in ex-bourbon casks.6,8,12
Some also ages at the Tsunuki distillery and at a cellar on Yakushima.6,8,12
