"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 on the "Benihikage" (Erebia niphonica), a butterfly designated as a natural monument in Nagano Prefecture, primarily inhabiting grasslands above 1,500 meters in Honshu. Inspired by this alpine butterfly, we have vatted three wine casks to create this exceptional triple-cask, single malt whisky, using malt genshu distilled at the Mars Komagatake Distillery.

The Benihikage, an "alpine butterfly" designated as a natural monument in Nagano Prefecture. Its distant homeland lies in the northern regions of the Eurasian continent. It arrived in the Japanese archipelago during the last glacial period when the land was connected to the continent. Sharing this same origin is the Yanagiran (fireweed), often called the "quintessential flower of summer highlands." Both can be seen in the flower fields starting around 1,500 meters altitude in Shinshu.Wanting to capture a two-shot of these wonderful alumni across the vastness of time, I visited the subalpine zone of Shinshu many times. On August 15, 2018, I found Yanagiran blooming beside the walking path in the Ikenotaira Wetland of the Mt. Asama range. After waiting for about an hour... just as I hoped, a Benihikage arrived.This is a triple cask single malt whisky, created by vatting three malt genshu casks distilled at the Mars Komagatake Distillery in 2018—a wine cask finish whisky evoking the image of "eternal time."
Label photo and text by Shuichi Ogino.