diff --git a/distribution/src/main/resources/bin/elasticsearch-env.bat b/distribution/src/main/resources/bin/elasticsearch-env.bat
index 7f3c9f99f03..ad78a5537a4 100644
--- a/distribution/src/main/resources/bin/elasticsearch-env.bat
+++ b/distribution/src/main/resources/bin/elasticsearch-env.bat
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ if not exist %JAVA% (
 
 rem do not let JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS slip in (as the JVM does by default)
 if not "%JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS%" == "" (
-  echo "warning: ignoring JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS=$JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS"
+  echo "warning: ignoring JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS=%JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS%"
   set JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS=
 )