From Mars, affordable Japanese whiskies headed for India

Finding a fine, affordable Japanese whisky is not easy. Over the last several years, demand has consistently outstripped supply globally, and in India, the problem is compounded by massive import duties. But Ansh Khanna hopes to partly remedy the situation. Khanna’s Peak Spirits, and Sonarys Co-Brands, one of India’s top spirits importers, will jointly launch whiskies from Japan’s Mars distillery in September. The first bunch of whiskies to hit India from the Mars stable will include Komagatake 2020 Single Malt and the Iwai and Iwai Tradition blended whiskies. Khanna says Mars will be among the first of the smaller Japanese distilleries he is looking to associate with.

“Mars is about 60 times smaller compared to the Japanese whisky heavyweights. But in the last decade or so, it has made some exceptional whiskies,” says Khanna. “Our aim is to tie up with the best of such Japanese craft distilleries and expand our range.”

Mars, which has been around for a fair bit, has had a chequered history. It is owned by the Hombo family that started off making shochu in 1909 and acquired a whisky licence in 1949. Its first distillery at Yamanashi, near Tokyo, was set up by Kiichiro Iwai, a well-respected contemporary of Masataka Taketsuru, widely known as the father of Japanese whisky, in 1960.

The following decades would see the Hombo family set up — and later mothball — newer distilleries, their fates tied to the demand for Japanese whisky both domestically and globally.

Today, Mars operates two distilleries. Mars Shinsu, their main distillery, is located at an altitude of 2,625 ft in the Nagano Alps, while Mars Tsunuki, in Kagoshima, is Japan’s southernmost distillery. Mars also has an ageing facility on the subtropical island of Yakushima.

The last decade has seen Mars bring home the shiny stuff. Its Mars Maltage 28 Year Old was adjudged the world’s best blended malt in 2013 and more recently it won a best single cask single malt designation at the 2019 World Whiskies Awards.

“Like at most Japanese distilleries, the folks at Mars are perfectionists and it shows in their whiskies. I especially love how their two distilleries represent climactic extremes,” says Khanna. Late last year, Mars announced three new releases, and these include the Komagatake 2020 that is aged for over three years in sherry casks and American White Oak barrels. According to the distillery, the whisky “displays notes of prune, honey, and vanilla on the nose and sweet orange and cocoa powder on the palate.”

I’d urge Peak Spirits to do some more cherry picking and get brands such as Chichibu into India. That would be lovely.

-Krishna Nukala, whisky consultant

“There is both a lot of demand and curiosity about Japanese whisky in India, and Mars would be a welcome addition," says Krishna Nukala, a Hyderabad-based whisky consultant and the only Indian member of the Malt Maniacs, a highly regarded international whisky collective. “But on behalf of whisky enthusiasts across the country, I’d urge Peak Spirits to do some more cherry-picking and get brands such as Chichibu into India. That would be lovely.”