Online whisky forums have been buzzing this week as rumours spread of the release of two 50 year old Karuizawas.
If you are a regular reader of the Mark Littler Blog, then you may have read our history of Japan’s lost distillery, Karuizawa.
Karuizawa distillery ran from 1955 until 2000, when it was mothballed. It has not been active since. However, Karuizawa left behind an astonishing legacy, as well as some very old stocks, giving independent bottlers the chance to bring Karuizawa to the world.
Could two new Karuizawa 50 Year Olds be on the way?
One such bottler is Taiwanese entrepreneur Eric Huang. Huang was one of those who despaired at the decision of Kirin, Karuizawa’s owners, to permanently close and dismantle the site in 2011. And so, he and a few other Karuizawa enthusiasts bought up the remaining stocks.
In 2011, Number One Drinks Company, who bought some of the stocks, entrusted their remaining casks to Huang, as he had very successfully marketed the stocks already under his control.
In our blog about the history of Karuizawa, we said the following:
Subsequently, the remaining casks of Karuizawa were sold to Taiwanese Entrepreneur Eric Huang in 2011. Huang owned 20 of the 25 remaining casks of Karuizawa and had planned to release a final single-cask bottling around the 2020 Olympics which were, of course, cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. www.oldhouseonline.com Huang has allegedly chosen to go ahead with the release though as yet we can find no record of the bottles.
In November 2020 Huang was due to release 211 limited edition bottles of Karuizawa 50 year old The Last Masterpiece Single Malt Cask No. 6017 through his online retailer Decanter. The bottles will retail at approximately £35,000 each for a 70cl bottle. The bottles will not be available in the US. Watch this space for more news surrounding The Last Masterpiece – a fitting tribute to Huang’s last cask of Karuizawa.
Fast-forward to August 2021, and we may finally have some news about the Karuizawa 50 Year Old Last Masterpieces! Avid whisky fans on the internet have gotten wind of the planned release which is, purposefully or not, happening after the closing of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (which closed on 8th August 2021).
The release will be limited to 211 bottles.
Could it be that the release is finally here?
No word yet on exactly how much the bottles will cost, although the 211 bottle figure seems to still be accurate.
The most expensive bottle of Karuizawa whisky sold to date is a Karuizawa 1960 52 Year Old #5627 Zodiac Rat that sold via Sotheby’s in March 2020.
Other 50 year old expressions of Karuizawa have sold for more than £24,000 in the last year at auction, with the most expensive 50 year old to date being only 1 of 2 that was donated to Whisky.Auction by The Whisky Exchange. The bottle subsequently sold for £100,100 in November 2018.
The market for Karuizawa has been growing for years, as stocks deplete and prices rise, making this release – rumoured to contain whisky from the last remaining casks of Karuizawa – one to remember.
The whisky world will, no doubt, hold its breath as we wait for more news on this historic release from Eric Huang’s portfolio. Such a release would certainly debut to huge fanfare, as is fitting for the last casks of Karuizawa.
Online whisky forums have been buzzing this week as rumours spread of the release of two 50 year old Karuizawas.
If you are a regular reader of the Mark Littler Blog, then you may have read our history of Japan’s lost distillery, Karuizawa.
Karuizawa distillery ran from 1955 until 2000, when it was mothballed. It has not been active since. However, Karuizawa left behind an astonishing legacy, as well as some very old stocks, giving independent bottlers the chance to bring Karuizawa to the world.
Could two new Karuizawa 50 Year Olds be on the way?
One such bottler is Taiwanese entrepreneur Eric Huang. Huang was one of those who despaired at the decision of Kirin, Karuizawa’s owners, to permanently close and dismantle the site in 2011. And so, he and a few other Karuizawa enthusiasts bought up the remaining stocks.
In 2011, Number One Drinks Company, who bought some of the stocks, entrusted their remaining casks to Huang, as he had very successfully marketed the stocks already under his control.
In our blog about the history of Karuizawa, we said the following:
Subsequently, the remaining casks of Karuizawa were sold to Taiwanese Entrepreneur Eric Huang in 2011. Huang owned 20 of the 25 remaining casks of Karuizawa and had planned to release a final single-cask bottling around the 2020 Olympics which were, of course, cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Huang has allegedly chosen to go ahead with the release though as yet we can find no record of the bottles.
In November 2020 Huang was due to release 211 limited edition bottles of Karuizawa 50 year old The Last Masterpiece Single Malt Cask No. 6017 through his online retailer Decanter. The bottles will retail at approximately £35,000 each for a 70cl bottle. The bottles will not be available in the US. Watch this space for more news surrounding The Last Masterpiece – a fitting tribute to Huang’s last cask of Karuizawa.
Fast-forward to August 2021, and we may finally have some news about the Karuizawa 50 Year Old Last Masterpieces! Avid whisky fans on the internet have gotten wind of the planned release which is, purposefully or not, happening after the closing of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (which closed on 8th August 2021).
The release will be limited to 211 bottles.
Could it be that the release is finally here?
No word yet on exactly how much the bottles will cost, although the 211 bottle figure seems to still be accurate.
The most expensive bottle of Karuizawa whisky sold to date is a Karuizawa 1960 52 Year Old #5627 Zodiac Rat that sold via Sotheby’s in March 2020.
Other 50 year old expressions of Karuizawa have sold for more than £24,000 in the last year at auction, with the most expensive 50 year old to date being only 1 of 2 that was donated to Whisky.Auction by The Whisky Exchange. The bottle subsequently sold for £100,100 in November 2018.
The market for Karuizawa has been growing for years, as stocks deplete and prices rise, making this release – rumoured to contain whisky from the last remaining casks of Karuizawa – one to remember.
The whisky world will, no doubt, hold its breath as we wait for more news on this historic release from Eric Huang’s portfolio. Such a release would certainly debut to huge fanfare, as is fitting for the last casks of Karuizawa.
