1981 Karuizawa Battle of Kawanakajima 59.5%
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Tasting notes
This stunning, two bottle 1981 Karuizawa 35 Year Old ‘Battle of Kawanakajima’ Cask Set ticks all the boxes when it comes to what connoisseurs seek. Limited in number, of considerable age and spectacularly presented - this is the embodiment of Japan’s meteoric (yet relatively recent) rise within the luxury whisky market. Since the closure of the Karuizawa Distillery in the early 2000s, the single cask whiskies produced at this unique location on the southern slopes of Mount Asama have become a real proposition for investors. The combination of exceptional quality and finite supply have made these some of the most hotly-traded whiskies on the market. With the final unreleased cask of Karuizawa on the horizon - after which nothing will be available to replenish current demand - all remaining bottles will be traded and sought-after by every new generation of whisky collector. This serves only to cement Karuizawa's reputation as one of the most collectable Japanese spirits of all time. Drawn from two single sherry casks (#226 & #7922), both whiskies are over 35 years old and bottled at natural cask strength. It is this style of whisky that turned Karuizawa from a small regional distillery into a leading name in the world of whisky. The 1981 Karuizawa Battle of Kawanakjima is one of only 162 sets produced worldwide and comes bottled in a beautifully handcrafted whisky cabinet, displaying artwork from Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige. Hiroshige was a Japanese Ukiyo-e artist, often considered the last great master of his tradition. The same might be said for Karuizawa...
About the producer
Karuizawa is an increasingly rare Japanese single malt from a permanently closed distillery. When Karuizawa was built in 1955, the goal was to create a Japanese whisky in the Scottish tradition. In the mid-1950s, that meant Sherry-aged whiskies like The Macallan.