"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.
The sixth release focuses on the "Ishigakecho" (Common Map Butterfly), which primarily inhabits mountains south of the Kii Peninsula.
Inspired by the distinctive "stone wall" (Ishigaki) patterns on its wings—the origin of its name—we carefully selected a medium-peated malt whisky matured in a Sherry cask.
Distilled in 2015 at Mars Komagatake Distillery (formerly Mars Shinshu Distillery) and matured at Mars Tsunuki Distillery, this single cask single malt whisky is bottled at natural cask strength, non-chill filtered.

K. Hombo: "During summer in Kagoshima, walking around the hilly outskirts of the Yamate area, you may encounter a white butterfly with a peculiar, mechanical flight pattern... that is the Ishigakecho! Although not widely known, it was a classic target for insect collecting during our elementary and junior high school summer vacations. The stone wall pattern is so beautifully designed that it makes you think, 'The gods of nature are amazing!' To embody the Ishigakecho, we chose a peaty single cask distilled in Shinshu and matured in Tsunuki."
The label artwork is created by Kagoshima-based artist Tomoko Nakanoma.