Karuizawa

[Danzer]

As most of you here i've managed to get a few bottles of Karuizawa, different vintages that is. But lately it seems that prices are exploding. I know OB's and single casks are highly sought after but 200% to allmost 350% price increases in a few months? Is there a specific reason for this? And a very controversial question, is the 1967 going to be the next black bowmore? (as a legendary bottling)

A few examples
1967 Lmdw/TWE now auctions at around 850 euro's
1971 now auctions at around 500 euro's
1972 now auctions at around 400 euro's
1977 (Noh) now auctions at around 400 euro's

[dramtastic]

Personally I think those prices are ridiculous. Most people hadn't even heard of Karuizawa up untill a few years ago. When was th 67 released, about 6 months ago? Wasn't it selling for about Euro250? Seems that if you win some awards(previous to the 67's release) the speculators jump in and buy up all the stock.

Unfortunately, as Karuizawa is not actively producing whisky I don't see the situation changing. Those greedy buggers who have access to those single casks at the distillery will keep drip feeding them to the general public at inflated prices and so the chain of overpriced whisky starts. Pounds to peanuts if you could go to the distillery and buy yourself a cask you'd be surprised how good value they are. I reckon the production manager would be stunned at these prices!
(Yes there is a production manager, though it seems strangely redundant term under the circumstances.)

It's a shame, most of these bottles will never be opened and enjoyed for the purpose their distillery intended, drinking!

And yes, the 67 will probably be similar to the Black Bowmore, only sooner!

[corbuso]

The 1967 and in particular the 1971 vintage are both excellent whiskies.
Old Japanese whiskies are rare and the Karuizawa are considerably cheaper than that of the Yamazaki distillery.
Furthermore, the 1967 received a very high score on a certain website and limited to 2 retailers.
Taking into consideration these factors, the demand for these whiskies is very high but access to them limited, leading to these high prices.

Corbuso
................
http://www.whisky-news.com

[dramtastic]

Old Japanese whiskies are rare and the Karuizawa are considerably cheaper than that of the Yamazaki distillery.

Corbuso
................
http://www.whisky-news.com

I beg to differ.

a) old japanese whiskies are not particularly rare, unless you only have access to them in Europe, the UK and the States. Because they are not available there, that doesn't mean they are rare.

b) excellent single cask Yamazaki's are as cheap or cheaper than similar quality Karuizawa's, and there is far more quality Yamazaki's than there will ever be Karuizawa's.

Please don't quote me European prices as they have no bearing on my comment as I don't buy then from there. If all you know is the few overpriced Vintage Yamazaki's sold in Europe then you really don't know how many are available.

Note, I could have bought the very highly rated first release of the Hakushu 1989 Sherry Cask (about 400 odd bottles) a couple of days ago for about Euro100, far cheaper than a similarly rare and highly rated Karuizawa. The Cask Of Yamazaki 1990 Sherry Butt(JM 97/100) for about
Euro80.

This is not to put down Karuizawa, a whisky that I will continue to buy and enjoy as funds permit.

[r900p]

The 1967 LMDW and TWE bottlings have risen in line with the cost any other 40yr old whiskies out there, so they are similar priced which retail around £1000.

So shoudl the original release prices have been £1000?

To me the bottlings were very cheap.

Rob

[corbuso]

I beg to differ.

a) old japanese whiskies are not particularly rare, unless you only have access to them in Europe, the UK and the States. Because they are not available there, that doesn't mean they are rare.

b) excellent single cask Yamazaki's are as cheap or cheaper than similar quality Karuizawa's, and there is far more quality Yamazaki's than there will ever be Karuizawa's.

Please don't quote me European prices as they have no bearing on my comment as I don't buy then from there. If all you know is the few overpriced Vintage Yamazaki's sold in Europe then you really don't know how many are available.

Note, I could have bought the very highly rated first release of the Hakushu 1989 Sherry Cask (about 400 odd bottles) a couple of days ago for about Euro100, far cheaper than a similarly rare and highly rated Karuizawa. The Cask Of Yamazaki 1990 Sherry Butt(JM 97/100) for about
Euro80.

This is not to put down Karuizawa, a whisky that I will continue to buy and enjoy as funds permit.[/quote]

a) Really? I haven't seen many 40 years old Japanese whiskies, but if you say so...

b) maybe for the young ones, but not for the ones over 25 years or?