50-Year-Old Whisky From Legendary, Shuttered Japanese Distillery Goes to Auction With $75,000 Starting Bid

A bottle of Karuizawa 50 Year “The Last Masterpiece” is going under the hammer on BlockBar. (Photo: BlockBar)

A bottle of 50-year-old whisky from Karuizawa, a Japanese distillery that has been shuttered since 2000, will go to auction via whisky-NFT marketplace BlockBar, with a starting bid of 68.75 ETH, or about $75,000. This bottle is one of 211 remaining from the last 50-year Karuizawa cask, called “The Last Masterpiece.”

“Every bottle of Karuizawa whisky is really precious because the Karuizawa Distillery is closed. Once a bottle has been purchased, the brand gets a step closer to its final conclusion and therefore we must be very careful about who we partner with,” Eric Huang, CEO of Hua Yang International Exhibition in Taiwan, said, according to The Spirits Business.

The whisky is bottled at 58.3% ABV and will be available to redeem by the buyer on Dec. 1. Those interested in bidding can do so on the BlockBar website.

This sale will be the first of a Japanese whisky on the BlockBar platform.

“The Karuizawa brand is incredibly unique and we see huge potential for dropping an NFT which includes guaranteeing authenticity for the bottle owner,” Huang said. “The major consideration for our partnership with Block Bar is its expertise in luxury spirits and its strict control of ensuring bottle authenticity and quality by partnering directly with a brand owner.”

The bottle features label artwork featuring writing in traditional Kanji style, designed by Japanese calligrapher Souun Takeda.

In January, a 250-milliliter bottle of 62-year-old Karuizawa was auctioned for about $160,000.

Karuizawa’s whiskies are said to be the most similar to Scottish malt whisky among Japanese whiskies.

Karuizawa The Last Masterpiece 1970 50 Year Old Japanese Whisky Tasting Notes, via BlockBar

Color: Old oak

Nose: Rich raisins and dried apricots, delicate honey and floral.

Taste: Sweet toffee and dark fruit. Creamy dark chocolate with a hint of spices.

Finish: Long and delightful

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