MARS MALT Le Papillon Triple Cask “A.ganesa”. Now available by lot from Honbo Shuzo Mars Whisky. Features, price, and how to purchase.

Information about the lottery sales of “Mars Malt Le Papillon Triple Cask “A.ganesa” has been released on the official website of Hombo Shuzo Co.

Lottery applications will be accepted until July 15, 24:00. The number of bottles produced is 578.

The “Mars Malt Le Papillon” series is a series of whiskies that expresses the splendor of Japan’s seasonal climate and its natural environment, which forms the environment in which whiskies are matured, using butterflies that inhabit Japan as a motif.
This is the 17th release in the Papillon series, and uses malt base whisky distilled at the Mars Tsunuki Distillery in 2017. This triple cask single malt whisky is made by selecting and vatting three barrels of bourbon cask-aged malt whisky.
All the bottlings in the series have been bottled as single or double casks, but this is the first triple cask. The number of bottles is small, making it a highly rare whisky.

1. Lottery application
2. Mars Malt Le Papillon Triple Cask “A.ganesa”
2. What is Mars Tsunuki Distillery?
4. Papillon series lineup
Lastly: Recommended Books on Japanese Whisky

1. Lottery application

Please apply from Hombo Shuzo’s official shop.
Click here for the official SHOP page.

Application period: July 15, 24:00
Only winners will be notified of their selection and purchase information to the e-mail address they entered in the application form. No notification of unsuccessful applicants.

2. Mars Malt Le Papillon Triple Cask “A.ganesa”

Image source: Hombo Shuzo official website

The “Mars Malt Le Papillon” series expresses the splendor of Japan’s seasonal climate and natural environment, which forms the environment in which whisky is matured, using butterflies that live in Japan as a motif.
The theme of this product is the small and rare butterfly “A.ganesa,” and the exotic blue wings shining in a dimly lit shrubbery are the image of the exquisite triple cask single malt whisky, distilled at the Mars Tsunuki Distillery and vatted from three barrels aged in bourbon barrels.

<A.ganesa> “The A.ganesa is one of the most rare butterflies representing Japan. The name derives from the American who discovered it, Mr. Loomis, and I have admired the butterfly since I was a boy. My first encounter with the butterfly was at the end of August of my second year of high school. I was exploring a dry stream in the shiny-leaved forest zone in Minami-Boso where it was dark even in the daytime. It was hard to walk at the bottom of the valley, and my eyes were soaked with sweat from the sauna bath I was taking that my vision was often blurry. I looked down at my feet and saw several mountain lions crawling up my trousers. I will never forget the moment when I finally saw the butterfly of my dreams while enduring the horror of the scene. This triple cask single malt whisky was distilled at the Mars Tsunuki Distillery and vatted with three barrels of malt distilled at the Mars Tsunuki Distillery and aged in bourbon barrels to evoke the image of exotic blue wings shining in a dimly-lit shady forest.” Label photo and text by Shuichi Ogino.

Reference: Mars Malt Le Papillon Triple Cask A.ganesa | Japanese Whisky | Hombo Shuzo Official Website (hombo.co.jp)

Product Name	Mars Malt Le Papillon Triple Cask A.ganesa
Distinction by alcohol	Single Malt Japanese Whisky
Ingredients	Malt
Cask Type	Bourbon casks
Number of bottles	Limited to 578 bottles
Strength	55%
Price	Suggested retail price: 15,400 yen (tax included)
Manufactured at	Mars Tsunuki Distillery
Manufacturer	Hombo Shuzo Co.

2. What is Mars Tsunuki Distillery?

Location	6594, Kaseda-Tsunuki, Minami-Satsuma-shi, Kagoshima 899-3611
Start of operation	2016

“Tsunuki” in Kaseda, Minamisatsuma City. “The Mars Tsunuki Distillery”, the southernmost whisky distillery on the mainland, is located in the green mountains southwest of Satsuma Peninsula.

Tsunuki, located in the southwestern part of the Satsuma Peninsula, is in a long basin along the Kaseda River, a tributary of the Manose River. Surrounded by Mt. Kurata (475m) to the east and Mt. Nagaya (513m) to the west, the basin-like topography makes the summers hot and the winters cold, which are extremely severe in South Satsuma.
The area has a natural environment that is a “blessing from nature” with good water resources (Mt. Kurata spring water), and is known as “Tsunuki Mikan” (mandarin orange), which is cultivated by effectively utilizing the mountain slope.
Blessed with a mild climate and good water resources, Tsunuki is the birthplace of the Honbo Sake Brewery. It has been more than 100 years since the brewery started making shochu using Satsuma sweet potatoes, one of Satsuma’s representative specialties.
Reference: Mars Tsunuki Distillery official website

For more information about Mars Tsunuki Distillery, please see also here↓.

Tsunuki Distillery | Japanese ...

Japanese Whisky Dictionary

4. Papillon series lineup

4-1. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask S.divinus barine

Distilled: February 2012, Bottled: December 2016
Limited edition: 599 bottles
Price: 10,450 yen (9,500 yen without tax)
Cask type: American white oak

One barrel of carefully selected malt sake with a fragrant and gorgeous aroma. This single cask whiskey was distilled in 2012 and matured in American white oak casks in the cool environment of Shinshu, and bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filter, focusing on the flavor from the cask.

4-2. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask G.sarpedon nipponum

Distilled: March 2013, Bottled: August 2017
Limited edition: 215 bottles
Price: 9,900 yen (9,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Bourbon barrels

One barrel of carefully selected medium-peated original aged in bourbon barrels. This single cask whisky is bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered, with a focus on the flavor of the original malt liquor distilled in 2013 at the Mars Shinshu Distillery and aged in the stone warehouse at the Mars Tsunuki Distillery, and bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered.

4-3. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask A.hippia japonica

Distilled: January 2014, Bottled: November 2017
Limited edition: 585 bottles
Price: 9,900 yen (9,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: American white oak

One barrel of carefully selected, non peated, original sake matured in new American white oak barrels. This single cask whisky was distilled at Mars Shinshu Distillery in 2014 and bottled at natural cask strength, non-chill filtered, with a focus on the barrel-aged flavor of the original malt.

マルスモルトル・パピヨンシングルカスクミヤマシロチョウ

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4-4. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask H.glaucippe liukiuensis

Distilled: March 2014, Bottled: May 2018
Limited edition: 182 bottles
Price: 12,100 yen (11,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Bourbon barrel

One barrel of carefully selected super heavy peated malt aged in bourbon barrels. This single cask whisky was distilled at the Mars Shinshu Distillery in 2014, aged in the Yakushima aging cellar, and bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filter with a focus on barrel-aged flavor.

4-5. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask P.maackii

Distilled: April 2014, Bottled: October 2018
Limited edition* 560 bottles
Price: 11,000 yen (10,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: American white oak

One barrel of carefully selected medium-peated original malt aged in American white oak. This single cask whisky was distilled at Mars Shinshu Distillery in 2014, and bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filter, focusing on the flavor of the cask release.

マルスモルトル・パピヨンシングルカスクミヤマカラスアゲハ

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4-6. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask C.thyodamas

Distilled: May 2015, Bottled: February 2019
Limited edition: 464 bottles
Price: 11,000 yen (10,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Sherry Butt

One barrel of carefully selected medium peated malt sake matured in sherry butts. This single cask whisky was distilled in 2015 at the Mars Shinshu Distillery, aged at the Mars Tsunuki Distillery, and bottled at natural cask strength, non-chill filtered, with a focus on the flavor from the cask.

マルスモルトル・パピヨンシングルカスクイシガケチョウ

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4-7. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask I.japonica

Distilled: January 2013, Bottled: April 2019
Limited edition: 576 bottles
Price: 13,200 yen (12,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: American white oak

One cask of Lightly Peated original aged in American White Oak casks was carefully selected. This single cask whisky was distilled at the Mars Shinshu Distillery in 2013, and bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filter, with a focus on the flavor of the cask release.

4-8. MARS MALT Le Papillon Double Cask A.puspa

Distilled: February/March 2015, Bottled: December 2019
Limited edition: 469 bottles
Price: 12,100 yen (11,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Bourbon barrel

Vatting and watering of two barrels of original sake matured in bourbon barrels. This single malt whisky was distilled at Mars Shinshu distillery in 2015 and aged in the Mars Yakushima aging cellar.

4-9. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask A.cardamines

Distilled: November 2015, Bottled: June 2020
Limited edition: 643 bottles
Price: 12,100 yen (11,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Sherry Butt

One cask of carefully selected original sake matured in sherry butts. This single cask whiskey was bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered from the original malt liquor distilled at the Mars Shinshu Distillery in 2015.

マルスモルトル・パピヨンクモマツマキチョウ

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4-10. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask I.io

Distilled May 2016, Bottled October 2020
Limited edition: 635 bottles
Price: 12,100 yen (11,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Sherry Butt

One cask of carefully selected heavy peated original malt aged in sherry butt. This single cask whisky was bottled at natural cask strength, non-chill filtered, with malt base distilled at Mars Shinshu distillery in 2016.

マルスモルトル・パピヨンクジャクチョウ

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4-11. MARSMALT Le Papillon Double Cask P.helenus

Distilled April/May 2017, Bottled March 2021
Limited edition: 422 bottles
Price: 11,000 yen (10,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Bourbon barrel

Vatting of two casks of original spirit matured in bourbon barrels. This single malt whisky is the first in the series to be bottled at natural cask strength, non-chill filtered, from malt distilled at the Mars Tsunuki Distillery.

マルスモルトル・パピヨンダブルカスクモンキアゲハ

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4-12. MARS MALT Le Papillon TAKAHIDE KOMATSU Edition

Distilled: 1990, Bottled: 2021
Limited edition: 365 bottles
Price: 297,000 yen (270,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: American white oak

It was distilled in 1990 in the first pot still that was in operation at the Mars Shinshu Distillery, and aged in American white oak barrels for 30 years. Bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered, you can enjoy the mature taste that only a matured whisky can produce.

マルスモルトル・パピヨン小松孝英エディション

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4-13. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask C.brillantinus

Distilled: March 2015, Bottled: July 2022
Limited edition: 567 bottles
Price: 13,200 yen (12,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Ume-shu barrel (American white oak)

We have carefully selected one barrel of non-peated sake matured in the same barrels used to mature plum wine. This single cask whisky is a natural cask strength, non-chill filtered, bottled single cask whisky of malt base distilled in 2015 at the Mars Shinshu Distillery.

マルスモルトル・パピヨンシングルカスクアイノミドリシジミ

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4-14. MARS MALT Le Papillon Double Cask L.amurensis

Distilled: December 2015, Bottled: February 2022
Limited edition: 567 bottles
Price: 12,100 yen (11,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Bourbon barrel and cherry head cask

Vatting of two casks, one with cherry wood for the mirror plate and the other aged in bourbon barrels.
This single malt whisky is a gem of a single malt whisky, bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered from the original malt spirit distilled at the Mars Shinshu Distillery in 2015.

マルスモルトル・パピヨンダブルカスクヒメシロチョウ

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4-15. MARS MALT Le Papillon Double Cask P.argyrognomon

Distilled: May and December 2016, Bottled: September 2023
Limited edition: 818 bottles
Price: 14,300 yen (13,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Sherry cask (cask numbers: 3368 and 3441)

The theme of this product is the “P.argyrognomon”, a butterfly of the Lycaeninae family that is found in a limited area in central Honshu, and two casks aged in sherry casks were vatted to evoke its blue-purple color, which can be compared to blue jewelry in the deep mountains.
This double cask single malt whiskey is a gem of a double cask single malt whiskey, bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered from the original malt liquor distilled in 2016 at the Mars Komagatake Distillery (formerly known as the Mars Shinshu Distillery).

4-16. MARS MALT Le Papillon Single Cask P.memnon

Distilled: May 2019, Bottled: June 2023
Limited edition: 621 bottles
Price: 15,400 yen (14,000 yen without tax)
Cask type: Sherry cask (stored in Yakushima aging cellar)

The theme of this product is the large butterfly “P.memnon”, whose name is derived from the fact that Siebold collected it in Nagasaki, and the cask was selected based on the image of a female with whitened wings, which can be seen in the Nansei Islands in Japan, sucking honey from hibiscus flowers, which is a typical tropical scene. This single cask single malt whiskey is a gem of a single cask single malt whisky, distilled in 2019 at the Mars Tsunuki Distillery and bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered from a single cask aged in sherry casks at the Yakushima aging cellar.

ル・パピヨンシングルカスクナガサキアゲハ

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Lastly: Recommended Books on Japanese Whisky

If you want to learn more about Japanese whisky, which is a global trend, we highly recommend these books.

(1).Whisky Galore Vol.29 December 2021 issue

In the December 2021 issue of Whisky Galore, published by the Whisky Culture Research Institute, we report on 11 Japanese craft distilleries, including some that are open to the public for the first time, under the title of “Japanese Whisky Craft Frontline,” the first of three consecutive issues. Why did the popularity of Japanese whisky and the craft boom occur? We will examine with interviews. Chichibu Distillery / Chichibu No.2 Distillery / Mars Shinshu Distillery / Mars Tsunuki Distillery / Kanosuke Distillery / Hioki Distillery / Ontake Distillery / Osuzuyama Distillery / Kaikyo Distillery / Hanyu Distillery / Konosu Distillery

Whisky Galore(ウイスキーガロア)Vol.29 2021年12月号

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(2). Japanese Whisky as an Education for Business

This is a book written by Mamoru Tsuchiya, a world-famous whisky critic and representative of the Whisky Culture Research Institute, titled “Japanese Whisky as a Culture that Works for Business” .
The book covers the basics of whisky, the introduction of whisky to Japan, the birth of Japanese whisky, advertising strategies and the rise of Japanese whisky, and the current rise of craft distilleries. This is a book that summarizes Japanese whisky in a very easy to understand way.

ビジネスに効く教養としてのジャパニーズウイスキー (単行本)

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祥伝社

(3). Whisky and I (Masataka Taketsuru)

Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, devoted his life to brewing whisky in Japan. This is a revised and reprinted version of the autobiography of a man who simply loved whisky and talked about himself. The book vividly depicts the days when he went to Scotland alone to study as a young man and overcame many hardships to complete Japanese whisky, as well as his companion, Rita.

(4). A Letter of Challenge from a New Generation Distillery

Launching in 2019. With the world experiencing an unprecedented whisky boom, what were the managers of craft distilleries thinking and what were their thoughts as they took on the challenge of making whisky? This book tells the stories of 13 craft distillery owners, including Ichiro Hido of Venture Whisky, famous for his Ichirose Malt, who inspired the birth of craft distilleries in Japan.

(5). Whiskey Rising

This is the Japanese version of Whisky Risng, published in the US in 2016, with much updated content. Not only does it describe the history of Japanese whisky in detail, but it also includes data on all the distilleries in Japan, including the craft distilleries that have been founded in recent years. The book also includes descriptions of the legendary bottles that have been released, as well as information on bars where Japanese whisky can be found.

ウイスキー・ライジング: ジャパニーズ・ウイスキーと蒸留所ガイド決定版

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小学館