Mars Iwai (75cl, 45%)

Mars Iwai is a Japanese blended whisky bottled at 45% ABV in a 75cl bottle. The blend is roughly 30% single malt from the Mars Shinshu distillery in Nagano and 70% grain whisky. The grain whisky was previously contracted from elsewhere and is now partly distilled on site. It brings classic blended suaveness with added richness and texture. The name honours Kiichiro Iwai, who helped commission Masataka Taketsuru's 1918 journey to Scotland to learn about whisky distillation. Iwai kept Taketsuru's notes and later built the Mars company's distillery to the original specifications.