
Karuizawa
Highly sought-after amongst whisky collectors and celebrated around the world, rare 1981 Karuizawa Japanese single-cask, malt whiskies were released in sets this summer. The Karuizawa Distillery was based the foot of Mount Asama, one of the most active volcanoes in Japan, until they closed their doors in 2001. The volcano provided the ideal atmosphere for whisky making, with no shortage of mineral-rich snow melt that aided in fermentation and flavoring. With a clean and crisp taste, these rare whiskies are highly sought after for good reason.
The distillery’s stock has been gradually bottled and sold, until now, when only two casks purchased by the Founder of Universal Whisky Experience, Mahesh Patel, remain. Held for this limited ‘Legend of Asama’ release, casks 4059 and 6183 were aged 20 years at the Karuizawa Distillery before they were transferred to the Chichibu Distillery, Saitama Prefecture.
Highly sought-after amongst whisky collectors and celebrated around the world, rare 1981 Karuizawa Japanese single-cask, malt whiskies were released in sets this year.
“I am extremely excited to finally be releasing this very special whisky to the world,” says Patel. “I wanted to ensure that when these exceptional whiskies were released, they were presented in a beautiful way that could tell the story of their turbulent past and be celebrated by the person lucky enough to purchase them.”
“This vision, along with Glencairn Crystal’s creativity and innovation has brought a part of this spectacular distillery back to life.”
The Japanese whiskies are encased in stunning Glencairn Crystal glassware and lunawood casing, crafted by the award-winning Glencairn Crystal Studio in East Kilbride, Scotland. Packaged with the two bottles of collectable whiskies are two handmade crystal decanters with gold caps, two Glencairn cut crystal glasses and an exclusive Glencairn water-jug to complete the set.