The distillery
Karuizawa
Japan · Closed
Karuizawa was a small, highly collectible single malt distillery located in Karuizawa. Founded in 1955, it operated at high altitude near Mount Asama, which gave its whiskies a unique maturation environment. Karuizawa is renowned for producing intensely sherry-matured, full-bodied whiskies with rich flavors of dried fruit, spice, chocolate, and smoke. The distillery ceased production in 2000, and its remaining casks are now extremely rare, making Karuizawa one of the most sought-after names among Japanese whisky collectors worldwide.