Karuizawa distillery is set to return in 2023, as a new distillery with the same name is being built in the small Japanese town. Whilst this is exciting news for fans of Japanese whisky, the availability of vintage, age-statement, and cask strength Karuizawa from the original distillery remains extremely low. These Karuizawas available on the Mark Littler Shop have all of teh attributes of the most sought after bottles of Karuizawa.
Check out our selection of Karuizawa bottles on the Mark Littler Shop.
A Brief History of Karuizawa
Karuizawa was initially founded as a winery in 1934, but by 1956, the first Karuizawa whisky was being distilled. During its time as a whisky distillery, most Karuizawa whisky was used in blends amongst intermittent single malt releases.
The single malt whisky market in Japan was not as stable as it is today, and Karuizawa closed its doors in 2000 during a boom in the popularity of shochu. The distillery was permanently closed in 2011 and razed in 2015.
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Most of the remaining Karuizawa stock was destined to be absorbed into blends, until La Maison du Whisky and Number One Drinks stepped in to rescue the vintage stock. As a result, vintage Karuizawa has been strategically released to the public in order to capitalise and economise on the rare stock.
Karuizawa whisky is extremely rare on the secondary market, with bottles that come to auction inspiring bidding wars and very high hammer prices. The current record for a single bottle of Karuizawa at auction is £363,000 for a Karuizawa 1960 52 Year Old Zodiac Rat, sold at Sotheby’s in 2020.
Vintage, Cask Strength, Age-Statement Karuizawa Whisky
Given the rarity of Karuizawa, and the popularity of the various bottles from La Maison du Whisky and Number One Drinks, we are pleased to offer six different bottles of Karuizawa whisky on the Mark Littler Shop.
The bottles that we have available are as follows:
- Karuizawa 1980 34 Year Old Artifices Series 014 Cask #6476 La Maison du Whisky b. 2014
- Karuizawa 1981 33 Year Old Artifices Series 009 Cask #136 La Maison du Whisky b. 2014
- Karuizawa 1972 39 Year Old Cask #7038 Number One Drinks b.2011
- Karuizawa 1973 39 Year Old Cask #1607 Number One Drinks b.2013
- Karuizawa 1978 35 Year Old Cask #8383 Number One Drinks b.2014
- Karuizawa 1979 35 Year Old Cask #8187 Number One Drinks b.2014
The bottles have enviable attributes as they all have vintages and age statements, and they are all from a single cask and bottled at cask strength. Considering the distinct lack of Karuizawa whisky available to bottle, La Maison du Whisky and Number One Drinks have remained committed to bringing Karuizawa whisky to market as single cask bottlings.
These bottles are the perfect addition to any Karuizawa or Japanese whisky collection.
Interested In Buying Karuizawa Whisky?
The bottles listed above are available to purchase on the Mark Littler Shop. They are currently lying in bond at LCB and the prices listed are excluding VAT.
If you are interested in purchasing the bottles you can do so through our shop. If you would like to speak to a member of the team about the bottles, please call 01260 218 718 or email [email protected], and we will get back to you.
