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Karuizawa 2000 Vintage Flower & Bird Series | Complete Set of 4 x 70cl | Single Cask | Closed Japanese Distillery
£9,999.00
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Karuizawa 2000 Vintage Flower & Bird Series | Complete Set of 4 x 70cl | Single Cask | Closed Japanese Distillery
A complete set of four single cask Karuizawa expressions from the final vintage year the distillery ever produced — distilled in 2000, the year the distillery was mothballed, and bottled in 2018. The 2000 vintage is the last year of Karuizawa production, making every bottle from this series not only extraordinary as whisky, but irreplaceable as history. This lot presents all four casks together, forming a complete Flower & Bird Series collection. Each bottle was produced in single-cask quantities so small as to be effectively unique. With Karuizawa demolished and no possibility of further production, assembled sets of this quality are extraordinarily rare.
The Four Casks
| Cask | ABV | Bottles | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| #7550 | 62.2% | 514 | Flower & Bird |
| #507 | 62.9% | 483 | Flower & Bird |
| #7377 | 61.6% | 498 | Flower & Bird |
| #7608 | 62.0% | 479 | Flower & Bird |
Key Features
- Distillery: Karuizawa (closed 2011 — demolished)
- Country: Japan (Miyota, Nagano Prefecture, slopes of Mount Asama)
- Vintage: Distilled 2000 (the final year of production) | Bottled 2018
- Cask Type: Sherry casks — all four
- Cask Numbers: #7550, #507, #7377, #7608
- ABV: 61.6% – 62.9% (Natural Cask Strength — varies by cask)
- Volume: 4 x 70cl
- Series: Flower & Bird Series
- Individual bottle limits: 479–514 per cask
- 2000 Vintage — the last Karuizawa ever distilled
Tasting Notes
Each of the four casks presents Karuizawa's celebrated 2000 vintage character — the final expression of a distillery that produced spirit from heavily sherried sherry casks unlike anywhere else in Japan:
- Nose: Dark, concentrated sherry richness — dried figs, Medjool dates, dark chocolate and aged leather. The natural high altitude of Karuizawa on the slopes of Mount Asama produced a distinctive intensity that no other Japanese distillery has replicated. Old polished oak, antique furniture, and a whisper of oriental spice
- Palate: Dense and velvety at cask strength — waves of dark fruit, Christmas cake, roasted coffee, mocha, and rich tannins from the sherry wood. Each cask offers subtle individual variation whilst sharing the unmistakable Karuizawa 2000 fingerprint
- Finish: Extraordinarily long — dark dried fruits, aged sherry, leather and gentle smoke that fades over many minutes rather than seconds
Note: Tasting notes written from expert knowledge of Karuizawa 2000 vintage sherry casks. Individual cask variations available on request.
About Karuizawa Distillery
Karuizawa Distillery was established in 1955 on the southern slopes of Mount Asama in Nagano Prefecture — Japan's most active volcano — at an altitude that produced unique maturation conditions found nowhere else in the whisky world. The smallest distillery in Japan, it was owned by Mercian Corporation and produced spirit almost exclusively for blending. Its single malt bottlings, when they came, were drawn from sherry casks of extraordinary quality, producing a style of Japanese whisky richer, denser, and more opulently sherried than Yamazaki, Hakushu or any other producer. The distillery was mothballed in 2000 — making its final vintage the very rarest of all — and closed permanently in 2011. The land was sold and the buildings demolished in 2012. No further Karuizawa can ever be produced. Every bottle that exists is finite, irreplaceable, and increasingly valuable at auction.
The Flower & Bird Series
The Flower & Bird series is one of the most visually and conceptually celebrated packaging designs in Japanese whisky — each label featuring traditional Japanese woodblock-inspired botanical and bird illustrations that celebrate the natural environment of the Karuizawa estate. The series has become as collectible for its aesthetic beauty as for its contents.
Perfect For
- The most serious Japanese whisky collectors — a complete four-cask set is exceptionally rare to find assembled
- Investors in closed Japanese distillery whisky at the peak of the market
- Institutions and serious private collections seeking documented provenance from the final Karuizawa vintage
- Those seeking a complete Flower & Bird series for display and investment
Delivery & Authenticity
Every bottle sold by Whiskys.co.uk is 100% authentic and sourced through verified, trusted channels. We ship across the UK and internationally with fully insured, specialist packaging for high-value multi-bottle sets. All orders are handled with the utmost care by our family team in Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire.
Enquire about this set today — a complete four-cask Karuizawa 2000 Vintage Flower & Bird collection representing the final year of production from Japan's most legendary closed distillery. Contact us directly for provenance documentation and shipping arrangements.