Are these the last two casks of Karuizawa whisky in existence?

Around 2012, when Sukhinder Singh was invited to travel to Japan to purchase a portion of the last casks of whisky from Karuizawa — a so-called ‘ghost distillery’ that had ceased production and was slated for demolition — he knew it was an offer too good to pass up. In a landmark auction on 10 March 2026, A Final Chapter: The Last Karuizawa Casks from the Collection of Sukhinder Singh, Christie’s in London will offer the remaining two casks of Karuizawa from his collection, and likely the last in existence. Each one contains around 420 bottles of the final whisky to be produced by the distillery.

Established by drinks firm Daikoku Budoshu at the foot of Mount Asama, an active volcano in Japan’s Nagano prefecture, Karuizawa produced the first spirit from its four copper stills in 1956. It was the smallest distillery in Japan, and initially made whisky to be blended with other whiskies before bottling.

In the late 1970s, however, the emphasis at the distillery began to shift. Following the release of Japan’s first single malt and a complete overhaul of the distillery, master distiller Osami Uchibori took the renegade steps of ageing the whisky in casks formerly used to store sherry, and insisting on the use of a rare, low-yield but high-in-flavour variety of barley called Golden Promise — both also signatures of Macallan in Scotland.

Yet just as quality improved dramatically, Japan’s domestic whisky market collapsed, and Karuizawa’s complex, oily, powerful and rich whiskies failed to find an audience. On 31 December 2000, Uchibori extinguished the still’s fires for good.

In a cruel twist of fate, in 2001, Karuizawa’s 12-Year-Old won gold at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London — a moment now seen as a springboard for Japanese whisky-mania worldwide.

‘Through a mixture of unusual ingredients, including peat and local yeast, combined with the distillery’s high-altitude microclimate, which delivers crisp winters and damp summers, Karuizawa had a distinct sense of terroir,’ explains Noah May, head of Wine and Spirits at Christie’s in London. ‘Aged for long periods, it matures into a distinctively big, beefy whisky, which has been described as “Macallan on steroids”, and was decades ahead of consumers’ appreciation.’

In 2006, the silent distillery was acquired by Japanese drinks conglomerate Kirin. Despite rumours that it might reopen, the building was eventually sold to a real-estate developer, and by 2016 it had been demolished.

Fortunately, the remaining cache of 364 casks, some dating as far back as 1960, had already been rescued by Number One Drinks Company — a distributor founded in 2006 by Marcin Miller, the former editor and publisher of Whisky Magazine, and David Croll, a Tokyo-based importer of Scotch whisky. Aware of the unique and sensational profile of the treasure trove they had secured, they invited three potential investors, including Singh, for a tasting in 2012.

After receiving the call, Singh, co-founder of The Whisky Exchange, and his friend Dave Broom, author of The Japanese Way of Whisky, flew to Japan and made the journey from Tokyo to the snow-covered slopes of the volcano. They were already well aware of Karuizawa’s brilliance: both men had visited and sampled the dust-covered casks in 2006, and Singh had been bottling and releasing small batches of single-cask Karuizawa in the UK since 2009.

Many collectors at the time considered Singh’s initial price for a bottle — around £80 — extravagant for an unknown whisky. Fast-forward just over a decade to March 2020, and a bottle of 52-year-old single cask Karuizawa sold at auction in London for £363,000 — a world record price for any Japanese whisky.

‘Once collectors began to taste Karuizawa, they quickly became mesmerised by its quality. It’s phenomenal and unlike anything else,’ says May. ‘Add in the boom in popularity for Japanese whisky and the fact that it’s a ghost distillery — meaning the rapidly dwindling stock is finite — and it soon had cult status.’

Singh bought more than a dozen casks from Miller and Croll, personally selecting each for its balance, brilliance and potential to keep on ageing. As he and Broom exited the meeting, the distillery’s lights were turned off, and the long process of demolition began within days.

The two casks offered at Christie’s were first moved to the nearby Chichibu distillery, then to Tokyo, before being transferred to Tormore, a distillery owned by Singh in Speyside, Scotland. They have continued to mature there since 2019, under the watchful care of his team.

Cask 6195 is a 500-litre ex-sherry butt, which was filled with Karuizawa in 1999. It is most likely made from American oak, and the colour suggests that it has previously been used to age whisky. When May tasted it in September 2025, the strength of the whisky was a remarkable 61.8 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV).

While high for a whisky of this age, this isn’t unusual for Karuizawa, says the specialist. ‘The distillery’s remarkable environment — it’s the only town to have held both Summer and Winter Olympic events — means that the evaporation of alcohol, known as “the angels’ share”, doesn’t really occur during maturation.’

Light amber in colour, it possesses an intense nose of wild berry fruits and incense, opening to earthier and meatier notes, with fragrances of pine, thyme, leather and cola cubes.

The whisky in the second cask, number 888, was also barrelled in 1999, originally in a 500-litre ex-sherry butt. In 2019, after arriving in Tormore, it was decanted into a second ex-sherry butt that had previously been used to age Ben Nevis — whisky from a distillery at the foot of the highest mountain in Britain.

With a strength of 57.7 per cent ABV, it has the colour of polished mahogany and notes of liquorice, light soy and dried shiitake mushrooms. There are also hints of smoke, tomato leaf and moss, highlighting Karuizawa’s complex and unconventional aromas.

Both casks were among the last to be filled from Karuizawa’s legendary stills. They are also the only remaining casks owned by Singh — and, as far as he and Broom are aware, are most likely the last in existence. ‘The distillery is gone. The casks have probably gone. All the bottlings are pretty much done. This is it,’ says May.

What does he think a winning bidder might do with a barrel of this 27-year-old liquid gold? ‘You could release all 420 bottles now, working with Japanese artisans to create an incredibly packaged product that celebrates the final chapter of this amazing story.

‘Or you could continue to nurture and finesse it for decades to come. You could even age it somewhere entirely different or on another type of wood. The results could be something really quite magical.’

A Final Chapter: The Last Karuizawa Casks from the Collection of Sukhinder Singh will be offered on 10 March 2026 at Christie’s in London