Approximately 290 Bottles to Be Auctioned

Karuizawa is a single malt whisky produced at Japan's smallest distillery, formerly located in Miyota, Nagano Prefecture. It used malt imported from Scotland, specifically Golden Promise, with an annual production of only 150,000 liters.

The distillery closed in 2012, and official sales ceased. However, the Karuizawa series has seen its rarity and taste re-evaluated, making it one of the most sought-after Japanese whiskies today.

Now, a collection of 290 Karuizawa bottles will be offered at an online auction. This collection, amassed by a European collector over more than 10 years, is estimated to be worth over 70 million yen.


The auction will feature nearly all brands of Japanese whisky, and it is said to be the first time a Karuizawa collection of this magnitude has been offered globally.

Over 230 of the bottles are single casks, including the exceptionally rare 50-year-old Karuizawa 1963 and the 48-year-old Karuizawa 1964. In 2015, Karuizawa 1960 was sold for a record 13.34 million yen, the highest price ever for a Japanese whisky at auction.

Even excluding the Karuizawa 1960, the average price of the bottles offered this time is estimated at 280,000 yen, with some bottles expected to fetch even higher prices.

In recent years, there has been a growing trend of increased interest and popularity in Japanese whisky among collectors worldwide. Last year, a Yamazaki 50 Year Old sold for approximately 8.76 million yen at an auction in the UK.


Ian Macleod, founder and owner of Whiskey Auctioneer, the company hosting the auction, commented: "This is the first time a collection of Karuizawa, one of the world's rarest whiskies, has been offered at auction on this scale. I am very much looking forward to seeing who will be the successful bidders. While we have held many auctions in the UK and Europe, we expect this particular collection to attract strong interest from whisky collectors in countries around the world, including the USA, Taiwan, and of course, Japan, the home of Karuizawa."

Auction Details
Bottles Offered | Karuizawa 1960, Karuizawa 1963, Karuizawa 1964, and approximately 290 other Karuizawa collection bottles
Auction Period | April 5 (Wed) 18:00 to April 18 (Tue) 02:00 JST
URL | https://www.whiskyauctioneer.com/