Karuizawa is the gold standard of rare Japanese whisky. The distillery closed its doors in 2011, although it had not been producing whisky for over a decade. For many years the company produced popular blended whiskies under the Ocean Whisky brand, using Kawasaki grain and Karuizawa malt, becoming the third best-selling label in Japan. Unable to compete with Suntory and Nikka however, the company closed Kawasaki in 1987, focussing on the emerging popularity of its Karuizawa single malt. The company was renamed Sanraku Inc in 1987, and again as Mercian in 1990. Following the closure of Karuizawa in 2001, they were merged with Kirin who dismantled the distillery in 2010, bringing their story to an end. Karuizawa was mothballed in 2000, and closed in 2011; the land on which it had stood was sold in 2012. The remaining whisky stock from the distillery was purchased and re-branded, then released as a series of luxury whiskies.
A bottle of 12-year-old Karuizawa which we believe was released in the 2000s.