12 August 2026
  • Uniting Nations 40 Years Old

    The Essence of Karuizawa

    Winning Bid
    £1,550
    RESERVE MET

    Uniting Nations 40 Years Old

    The Essence of Karuizawa
    Lot #0730021
    FINISH DATE
    31 December 2019

    The Essence of Karuizawa is a blended whisky containing a 45-Year-Old Karuizawa distilled in 1970, plus another undisclosed 40 Year Old Scotch whisky. The result is this unprecedented prestige blend of the best of the two countries. The Karuizawa character is quite prominent: dark chocolate, scented wood, liquorice, coupled with a very smooth and elegant old Scotch. A very rare Karuizawa, with only 677 bottles ever released.

    Karuizawa

    The most collectable name in Japanese whisky, began life as a vineyard, beneath Mount Asama, which was an active volcano. Before the then owners, Daikoku-budoshu, decided to enter the world of whisky in 1955. A brave move given the domestic market was still relatively small and whisky was seen as being of Scottish origin. They looked to Scotland and created a modest-sized distillery that brought together the best of whisky. The emphasis was on quality, using the flavoursome Golden Promise barley that is rarely used today, stills that enhanced the distillate and then predominately sherry maturation, thanks to casks sourced from Spain. A lull in whisky demand prompted the distillery to be closed in 2000, if Japanese whisky was booming as it has been in recent times, Karuizawa would still be in existence. Instead, the remaining casks were purchased by Ichiro Akuto and over the years we’ve seen these hugely collectable releases arrive at retail and vanish soon after.

    Lot Features
    • BOTTLER
      Official
    • DISTILLERY
      Karuizawa
    • TYPE
      Full Size
    • SIZE
      700ml
    • STRENGTH
      46%
    • APPROX. SHIPPING WEIGHT (kg)
      2
    Region
    Japan
    Japan
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