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30 sets of
Karuizawa Distillery’s incredibly rare
1981 vintage single cask malt whiskies
is being released in exclusive ‘Legend
of Asama’ sets encased in bespoke
Glencairn Crystal glassware.
Karuizawa is renowned as one of the
legendary whisky distilleries of Japan,
having created some of the most coveted
and collectable whiskies in the world.
This latest stunning single cask set,
created with Glencairn Crystal, being
no-exception…
This summer the distillery’s incredibly
rare 1981 vintage single cask malt
whiskies are being released in exclusive
sets, encased in stunning, bespoke
Glencairn Crystal glassware and lunawood
casing.
Each exquisite set includes two bottles
of the precious Japanese single malt
whisky, one from each of two remaining
casks (no. 4059 and 6183). Only 30 sets
of ‘The Legend of Asama’ are available
and will be released over a three-year
period.
Aged for 20 years at the Karuizawa
Distillery, these casks were transferred
to Chichibu Distillery, Saitama
Prefecture, where their custodian was
Ichibori-san, the legendary former
distiller at Karuizawa.
In recent years Karuizawa whisky has
become celebrated within the whisky
world and highly sought-after amongst
whisky collectors. The Karuizawa
Distillery was based at the foot of
Mount Asama, one of Japan’s most active
volcanoes, in Central Honshu. The site
was perfect for whisky making – there
was no shortage of snow melt from Mount
Asama and it was volcanic-rock-filtered
and mineral rich. This aided
fermentation and contributed to the
clean, crisp flavour of the whisky.
Temperate summer temperatures and cool
winters were ideal for maturing the
spirit.
Only a tiny quantity of Karuizawa was
released as a single malt during the
distillery’s lifetime and almost all of
that only ever released in Japan. When
the Japanese economy collapsed during
the 1990s, Japanese whisky distilleries
began to close, Karuizawa Distillery
included, sadly closing its doors in
2001: it was later demolished in 2016.
After several years of negotiation, in
2011 the remaining stock of 364 casks
were sold and since have gradually been
bottled and sold – many achieving
phenomenal prices at auctions: until now
only two casks were remaining. Renowned
whisky collector and connoisseur Mahesh
Patel, Founder of Universal Whisky
Experience, chose casks 4059 and 6183 in
2011 and kept them at Chichibu
Distillery to continue their maturation
until 2017 when some of the whisky was
bottled and sold in tiny batches. The
last remaining bottles from each cask
have been held back until now, for this
exclusive ‘Legend of Asama’ release.
Patel said: “I am extremely excited to
finally be releasing this very special
whisky to the world. 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 bottles in which the Karuizawa malt
is presented are decorated with Noh
masks – the Noh is Sino Japanese for
skill, craft or talent which well
describes the care with which the whisky
has been made. Noh theatre is a unique
form of dance-drama performed in Japan
since the 14th century integrating
masks, elaborate costumes, props and
music with chanted drama and dance based
on old traditional tales.
The packaging and presentation of the
sets has been produced by the award
winning Glencairn Crystal Studio in East
Kilbride, Scotland – the creators of the
world’s favourite whisky glass, the
Glencairn Glass.
The set comprises five tubes – two
containing the precious Noh bottles, two
holding empty handmade crystal decanters
with gold caps, uniquely decorated with
detailed engravings of the original
labels, and the last holding two
specially created Glencairn cut crystal
glasses and a Glencairn water-jug, of
exclusive design.
The tubes are hand crafted from lunawood
in two sections which fasten together
with a screw-thread hand cut into the
wood and are works of art in their own
right. The design pays tribute to Mount
Asama, alongside the Olympic Games
taking place in Japan this month.
Scott Davidson, New Product Development
Director at Glencairn Crystal said: “The
inspiration for the packaging can be
summed up as ‘Japanese simplicity’,
understated, clean, and made only from
natural materials. The whole display
stands on an elevated plinth, arranged
in a manner which reflects the noble
elevations of Mount Asama. It has been
an absolute honour for our talented team
of craftspeople to be involved in this
remarkable project”.
Each set is also accompanied by a signed
and numbered hardback book written by
whisky writer Charles MacLean MBE
featuring the story behind ‘The Legend
of Asama’ collection and tasting notes.
For details about ‘The Legend of Asama’
Karuizawa 1981 collection please visit:
www.legendofasama.com or email karuizawa@legendsofasama.com.
Price on application. For further
information about Glencairn Crystal
please visit: www.glencairn.co.uk
You will also find a selection of
Karuizawa single malt whisky
available from specialist online
whisky retailers such as
The Whisky Exchange and
Master of Malt
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