Rare Japanese whisky casks smash auction record to achieve £4.25 million
Two very rare casks of whisky from ‘ghost’ Japanese distillery Karuizawa became the highest value lots ever sold at a Christie’s Wine and Spirit auction yesterday, achieving an astounding £4.25 million.
The two casks, #6195 and #888 were offered for sale from the private collection of renowned whisky expert and collector Sukhinder Singh, who told the drinks business ahead of the sale that “the first time trying Karuizawa was a special and captivating moment”.
It is very rare for collectors to acquire Karuizawa in this form, Christie’s said, as “full casks of Karuizawa are almost never offered at auction”. Each cask yields approximately 420 bottles “and the chance to shape their future maturation, bottling and release”.
Each cask achieved £2.125 million.
Karuizawa was founded in 1955, based in Japan’s Southern Alps, where the distinctive microclimate (cold winters, hot summers and high humidity) helped concentrate the whisky’s rich, structured and complex character during maturation in ex-Sherry casks.
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Its 12-year-old expression was the first Japanese single malt to hit the local market in 1976, and although it didn’t make much of an impression at the time, it later achieved cult status. The distillery finally closed its doors in 2000, but it was only in 2007 that its distributor, Number One Drinks undertook a tasting of cask samples, prompting them to acquire the remaining 364 casks when news broke in 2010 that the distillery was to be demolished.
Contrast
Although both casks were distilled in 1999, the year before the distillery ceased production, the two whiskies are in sharp contrast to each other, Singh told db recently, with the #6195 (61.8% ABV) showing less wood influence and being “fresher and fruitier [by Karuizawa standards], compared to the “richer and more Sherried” #888.
Adam Bilbey, global head of wine and spirits at Christie’s, said the team was “incredibly proud” that the two extraordinary casks, which had been so carefully nurtured, “have found new custodians”.
“Full casks of Karuizawa are rarely seen, and their provenance from the private collection of Sukhinder Singh – one of the most respected figures in the world of rare whisky – made these even more special,” he said. “This is a project that Christie’s has been honoured to be involved with, and it is particularly thrilling to see the hammer come down on these record-breaking lots, a record number in our 60th year as a department.”
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