Information on the release of “Mars Malt Le Papillon Double Cask L.amurensis” & lottery sales has been released on the official website of Hombo Shuzo Co.
The deadline for the lottery is March 23 at 10:00AM. Limited to 829 bottles.
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.
This is the fourteenth in the Papillon series, and uses malt whisky distilled at the Mars Shinshu Distillery in 2015. It is a double cask single malt whisky vatted in a cask with cherry wood for the mirror plate and two barrels aged in bourbon barrels.
All the whiskies in the series are bottled in single or double cask, so the limited number of bottles each time is very small, making it a highly rare whisky.
1. About Lottery Application
The lottery application has started on the official Hombo Shuzo mail order page. Click here for the application form.
Application period: Thursday, March 23, 10:00
Notification of winners: Only winners will be notified by March 28 to the e-mail address they entered in the application form, and will be given instructions on how to purchase the sake. No notification of unsuccessful applicants.
2. Mars Malt Le Papillon Double Cask L.amurensis
This product, themed on the “L.amurensis,” a small species of the white butterfly family that mainly inhabits low grasslands, was vatted with two barrels, one with cherry wood for the mirror plate and the other aged in bourbon barrels, to evoke their dainty white figures dancing in the spring. 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.
This single malt whisky expresses a pretty white butterfly dancing in spring by vatting two casks from the original spirit distilled at the Shinshu Distillery in 2015.
The photo and text on the label are by Kyoji Osozawa.*This product conforms to the Japan Western Whisky Brewers Association’s “Standards for the Labeling of Japanese Whisky”.
Reference: Hombo Shuzo Official Online Store / Mars Malt Le Papillon Double Cask <L.amurensis>
| Product Name | MARSMALT Le Papillon Double Cask L.amurensis |
|---|---|
| Sake | Single malt whisky |
| Ingredients | Malt |
| Cask type | Bourbon barrels, cherry casks (mirror plate) |
| Number of bottles | Limited to 829 bottles |
| Strength | 60% |
| Price | Suggested retail price: 12,100 yen (tax included) |
| Manufactured at | Mars Shinshu Distillery |
| Producer | Hombo Shuzo Co. |
3. About Mars Shinshu Distillery
In 1949, Hombo Shuzo, which had been striving to make “Shochu”, a Japanese distilled spirit, in Kagoshima, obtained a license to produce whisky. Since then, the company has held on to the dream of “someday making real whisky that takes full advantage of the Japanese climate.”
After several years of whisky production in Kagoshima, in 1960, he established the “MARS Yamanashi Winery”, a factory for wine and whisky production in Yamanashi. Then, in order to engage in whisky production in earnest, he searched for an even more ideal location.
The natural conditions for whisky making are very demanding: cold climate with clean air, moderate humidity, and good quality water.
In 1985, after searching for land that met these conditions, Mars Shinshu Distillery was established at an altitude of 798 meters at the foot of Komagatake Mountain in the Central Alps, Nagano Prefecture, in search of the best environment for whisky making.
In 1992, distillation was halted due to sluggish demand for whisky. Later, as Japanese whisky began to be appreciated worldwide, we decided to resume distilling in 2009, when the demand for whisky was on the recovery trend, and started distilling again in 2010. The company re-started in February 2011.
In September 2020, it was completely renovated for the first time in 35 years. The investment is approximately 1.2 billion yen.
In May 2019, a new whisky distillation building (including a barrel cellar) was built to renovate aging facilities, improve the barrel cellar facilities with a view to increasing whisky production, and provide tours of the whisky making process, as well as a visitor building to sell original whisky and merchandise.
The new whisky distillation building has a total floor area of 1,996 square meter (including the barrel cellar, which will hold approximately 2,500 barrels), and the visitor’s building has a floor area of 746 square meter.
Reference: Hombo Shuzo official website
■Production capacity: 1.1 tons of malt per day
■Production capacity of malt malt: 1.1 t/day
■Main facilities: 1 malt crusher, 1 mash tun reuter (saccharification tank) 6KL, 3 stainless steel fermentation tanks 6KL, 3 Douglas fir wooden fermentation tanks (relocated) 6KL, and a first distillation kettle (relocated).
4. Papillon series lineup
4-1 MARSMALT 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 base sake with a fragrant and gorgeous aroma. This single cask whisky 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 MARSMALT 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)
Barrel type Bourbon barrels
One barrel of medium-peated original aged in bourbon barrels was carefully selected. This single cask whisky was 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 then bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered.
4-3 MARSMALT 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)
Barrel type American white oak
Selected one barrel of non peated original aged 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.
4-4 MARSMALT 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)
Barrel type Bourbon barrel
One barrel of super heavy peated aged in bourbon barrels was carefully selected. 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 MARSMALT 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)
Barrel type American white oak
One barrel of medium peated original aged in American white oak was carefully selected. 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.
4-6 MARSMALT 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 original aged 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.
4-7 MARSMALT 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, focusing on the flavor of the cask release.
4-8 MARSMALT Le Papillon Double Cask P.helenus
Distilled: February/March 2015, Bottled: December 2019
Limited edition 469 bottles
Price 12,100 yen (11,000 yen without tax)
Barrel type Bourbon barrel
Vatted and watered with two barrels of original sake aged 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 MARSMALT 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 barrel of carefully selected original sake matured in sherry butts. This single cask whisky was bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered from the original malt liquor distilled at Mars Shinshu Distillery in 2015.
4-10 MARSMALT 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 barrel of heavy peated original aged in sherry butts was carefully selected. This single cask whisky was bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered from the malt base distilled at the Mars Shinshu distillery in 2016.
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)
Barrel type Bourbon barrel
Vatting of two casks of original sake aged in bourbon barrels. This single malt whisky is the first in the series to be bottled at natural cask strength and non-chill filtered from malt distilled at the Mars Tsunuki Distillery.
4-12 MARSMALT 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.
4-13 MARSMALT 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)
Barrel type Ume wine barrel (American white oak)
One barrel of non-peated, original sake matured in the same barrels used to mature Umeshu (plum wine) has been carefully selected. This single cask whisky is a natural cask strength, non-chill filtered, bottled single cask whisky of malt base distilled at Mars Shinshu Distillery in 2015.
- 1. About Lottery Application
- 2. Mars Malt Le Papillon Double Cask L.amurensis
- 3. About Mars Shinshu Distillery
- 4. Papillon series lineup
- 4-1 MARSMALT Le Papillon Single Cask S.divinus barine
- 4-2 MARSMALT Le Papillon Single Cask G.sarpedon nipponum
- 4-3 MARSMALT Le Papillon Single Cask A.hippia japonica
- 4-4 MARSMALT Le Papillon Single Cask H.glaucippe liukiuensis
- 4-5 MARSMALT Le Papillon Single Cask P.maackii
- 4-6 MARSMALT Le Papillon Single Cask C.thyodamas
- 4-7 MARSMALT Le Papillon Single Cask I.japonica
- 4-8 MARSMALT Le Papillon Double Cask P.helenus
- 4-9 MARSMALT Le Papillon Single Cask A.cardamines
- 4-10 MARSMALT Le Papillon Single Cask I.io
- 4-11 MARSMALT Le Papillon Double Cask P.helenus
- 4-12 MARSMALT Le Papillon TAKAHIDE KOMATSU Edition
- 4-13 MARSMALT Le Papillon Single Cask C.brillantinus
- Lastly: Recommended Books on Japanese Whisky
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
(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.
(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.
