"MARS MALT Le Papillon" is a series that captures the splendor of Japan's natural environment and its four distinct seasons—which shape our whisky's maturation—through the motif of butterflies native to Japan.
This expression is themed after the "Monkiageha" (Red Helen), one of Japan's largest butterflies, widely inhabiting western Japan.
Inspired by its distinctive appearance—black wings adorned with large yellowish-white spots—this whisky is a vatting of two ex-Bourbon barrels.
It is a gem of a single malt, distilled during the inaugural year of Mars Tsunuki Distillery. It is bottled at natural cask strength, non-chill filtered.

"Living in Tokyo as an elementary school student, I used to gaze at picture books every day, dreaming of butterflies in distant tropical lands.It happened when I visited Miura Beach on a family trip. A butterfly I had never seen before was fluttering among the azaleas in full bloom. I held my breath! It was a Monkiageha. It was a size larger than the Black Swallowtail (Kuroageha) flying near my home, and its large white pattern was vivid. It was the first 'exotic' butterfly I had ever encountered.It was a small encounter with the unknown, but for me as a child, it was a significant event that expanded my world one step further. Since then, for half a century, I have been chasing unseen butterflies with a camera in hand."
For the first time in the series, this single malt whisky expresses an "Encounter with the Unknown," created from malt whisky distilled at Mars Tsunuki Distillery.