A uniquely rare bottle of Karuizawa 1960 Cask #5627, known as “The Prototype,” will headline Sotheby’s Whisky & Whiskey auction on 18 September in New York. Estimated at $400,000–600,000 (£296,000–444,000), the bottle is expected to be the highest-value lot in the sale, presented as part of Sotheby’s Nightcap series at the Breuer.
Distilled on 1 February 1960, Cask #5627 was the oldest cask in Karuizawa’s inventory when the remaining casks were acquired following the distillery’s closure.
Karuizawa ceased distilling at the end of 2000. After a change of ownership, the distillery was demolished. With no possibility of new production at the original distillery, the remaining casks became a finite source of one of Japan’s most sought-after whiskies.
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READ THE STORYCask #5627 held very little liquid when acquired, yielding just 41 commercially available bottles of the Karuizawa 1960 vintage. Matured for 52 years, it was the oldest Japanese whisky ever bottled at the time of its release.
Each commercial bottle was labeled with traditional Japanese washi paper and identified by a carved wooden “netsuke” character.
Before the hogshead was disgorged, two bottles were drawn directly from the cask and hand-filled into glass on separate occasions. The bottle offered at Sotheby’s was filled on 20 December 2012, prior to the commercial release, earning it the name “The Prototype.”
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The bottle was hand-filled by Osami Uchibori, Karuizawa’s final Master Distiller, who had worked at the distillery since 1960. Its handwritten label is accompanied by a certificate, also signed by Uchibori, confirming he filled the bottle.
The Prototype was drawn at 58.3% ABV, higher than the 51.8% ABV of the standard 1960 release.
“This is one of those bottles that I have been trying for years to hunt down,” said Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s Global Head of Spirits. “It’s a career highlight for me just to come into contact with it. Karuizawa 1960 Cask #5627 represents the very pinnacle of Japanese whisky, and this particular bottle is the rarest example of what this legendary distillery ever produced.”
Fowle added: “As one of only two bottles ever hand-bottled directly from Karuizawa’s oldest cask, this represents a key moment that would change the face of Japanese whisky collecting forever.”
The cask carries a notable auction pedigree. In March 2020, a Karuizawa 52 Year Old Zodiac Rat Cask #5627 sold at Sotheby’s London for £363,000 (approximately $435,273), setting a record for the brand at the time.
