Karuizawa: The Crane & Rooster

A matched pair of single-cask Karuizawa — the closed Japanese distillery whose last two casks made £4.25m at Christie's in March — bottled by the Number One Drinks Company for Tokyo's Shinanoya. Known to collectors as the "Crane & Rooster." Both originally from The Whisky Exchange, excellent fill and seals, original boxes.

Karuizawa 29 Year Old — 1984, Sherry Cask #3662 — 61.0% ("The Crane")
Bottled 2014 for Shinanoya & The Whisky Exchange. Deep mahogany, full cask strength — dried fruits, dark chocolate and old leather. One of only 271 bottles.

Karuizawa 32 Year Old — 1981, Sherry Cask #4380 — 55.4% ("The Rooster")
A private bottling for Shinanoya's 10th Anniversary (gold "10" neck seal). Just 118 bottles. A masterclass in long sherry maturation — raisins, chocolate, pastry, with an incense-like, umami complexity that only decades in a great sherry cask produce.

Karuizawa stock only shrinks; sherry-cask single casks like these are the most sought-after corner of the category. I can offer them as the pair or individually.