Mars Iwai Tradition Chateau Mars Wine Cask Finish Japanese Whisky
Mars Iwai Tradition Chateau Mars Wine Cask Finish takes the distillery's malt-and-corn blend and finishes it in red wine casks — ex-Pinot Noir and Cabernet from Chateau Mars, Hombo Shuzo's own winery in Yamanashi Prefecture — bottled at 40% ABV — available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 40% vol (80 proof); non-chill filtered
- Size: 750mL (some overseas listings 700ml — confirm bottle)
- Type: blended whisky — 70% malted barley / 30% corn
- Finish: ex-Pinot Noir and Cabernet wine casks from Chateau Mars (Hombo Shuzo's own winery, Yamanashi)
- Base: ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks; NAS
- Origin: Mars Shinshu Distillery, Nagano, Japan
When the Winery Lends the Whisky Its Barrels
Hombo Shuzo makes both whisky and wine — Chateau Mars is its Yamanashi winery — so this finish is as close to an in-house marriage as a wine cask can be. The red-wine casks take Iwai Tradition's peppery core and replace its lightly floral notes with baking spice and red-fruit character. A natural bridge pour for wine drinkers entering Japanese whisky. More from Mars Shinshu Distillery, or browse the store's Japanese whisky collection.
Tasting Notes
Toasted oats, strawberries, and sweet cream on the nose, with red berries and claret. The palate brings pomegranate molasses, rosemary, pink peppercorn, and a lingering hint of cinnamon — red berries, vanilla, honey, and caramel with a clear red-wine character. The finish is delicate baking spice.
How to Enjoy
Neat or lightly diluted to show the red-fruit and wine influence; also works in a wine-cask-forward Old Fashioned.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Chateau Mars?
The Yamanashi Prefecture winery of Hombo Shuzo — the same parent company as Mars whisky — making Pinot Noir and Cabernet among other wines; its used casks finish this Iwai release.
How is this different from regular Iwai Tradition?
Same malt-and-corn blend and bourbon-sherry base, finished additionally in red-wine casks, adding red-berry, claret, and baking-spice notes over the core whisky's peppery profile.
Is this a single malt?
No — Iwai Tradition is a blended (malt + corn grain) whisky; wine-cask finishing doesn't change the whisky type.
Is this the same as "Iwai Wine Cask Finish"?
Yes — retailers variously list it as "Chateau Mars Wine Cask Finish," "Wine Cask Finish," or "Mars Wine Cask Finish" — same expression.
Wine casks, whisky soul: order Mars Iwai Chateau Mars Wine Cask online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.