Collector's whisky

Karuizawa 1960: when past records are no longer enough

The extremely rare Japanese bottle, estimated at up to €375,000, remains unsold on Catawiki despite attracting over 1,700 bidders. A case that reflects the market’s new selectivity

by Maria Adelaide Marchesoni

11 June 2026

Karuizawa 1960/2013 – 52 anni Single Cask #5627

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Rising share prices

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

In the world of collecting, the past is not always a guarantee of the present. This is demonstrated by the case of the Karuizawa 1960 52 Years Old, one of the rarest and most sought-after Japanese whiskies in the world, which recently took centre stage at an auction on Catawiki. The bottle, with an estimated value of between €300,000 and €375,000, seemed set to confirm the record prices that have made the Japanese distillery legendary. However, the auction ended without a sale: bids stalled at around €250,000, a considerable sum in absolute terms but insufficient to meet the reserve price set by the owner. The bottle therefore remained unsold.

The auction’s lack of success should not be interpreted as a sign of disinterest in the Karuizawa 1960 52 Years Old. On the contrary: the bottle became the most closely followed item ever in Catawiki’s Spirits category, attracting over 1,700 users from all over the world who followed the auction’s progress, as the platform’s experts were keen to point out. This figure confirms the exceptional appeal of one of the rarest and most sought-after whiskies ever produced in Japan.

When demand and expectations don’t align

This episode highlights an increasingly common trend in the collectibles market: interest does not necessarily translate into a transaction at the hoped-for level. During the post-pandemic boom years, a number of exceptional results had helped to set very high expectations for the rarest bottles. However, the records set in the past reflect specific market conditions and the presence of particularly motivated buyers.
Today, the landscape looks different. Collectors continue to compete for the most iconic items, but they do so with greater selectivity and price sensitivity.

In the case of the 1960 Karuizawa, the gap between the approximately €250,000 offered by the market and the seller’s expected valuation is not so much a rejection of the item as an indicator of the phase the sector is currently going through. Its rarity and prestige remain intact; what has changed is buyers’ willingness to push prices to record levels. In other words, the market continues to recognise the item’s value, but not necessarily at the prices that were reached during the years of greatest euphoria.

Karuizawa, the ghost distillery that became a legend

The history of Karuizawa is one of the most fascinating in the world of Japanese whisky. Founded in 1955 at the foot of Mount Asama, in the town of Karuizawa, the distillery produced whisky in limited quantities, drawing inspiration from the style of Highland Scotch whiskies, particularly Macallan. Unlike other Japanese producers, Karuizawa did not target the large domestic market and remained, for decades, a name virtually unknown outside a small circle of enthusiasts.

Production ceased in 2000 and the distillery was finally dismantled in 2011. However, the closure transformed the remaining stocks into a unique asset: every bottle came from a reserve destined to be exhausted forever. It is this element of absolute scarcity that has fuelled the collecting phenomenon over the years.

Rising share prices

Between 2012 and 2022, Karuizawa became the symbol of the boom in Japanese whisky on the international market. Some bottlings have seen unprecedented increases in value, attracting collectors from Asia, Europe and the United States.
Among the most significant results, several bottles from the “The Casks of Karuizawa” series exceeded €100,000 at major international auctions during the 2018–2019 period. In 2020, the famous Karuizawa 52 Years Old Zodiac Rat 1960, from cask no. 5627 and produced in a limited run of just 41 bottles, was sold at Sotheby’s for over £360,000, setting the world record for a Japanese whisky at the time.

From the post-Covid boom to market normalisation

The fact that the 1960 Karuizawa failed to reach its reserve price is not an isolated incident. It comes, in fact, at a time when the market for collectible whiskies is cooling down following the exceptional growth seen between 2020 and 2022. During those years, rare whisky was one of the world’s best-performing collectable assets, buoyed by growing international demand, the entry of new investors and increasing interest in alternative assets. In 2022, the value of rare whiskies at auction was still rising by 21% year-on-year, but from 2023 the picture began to change. According to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index, rare whisky was the worst-performing segment among collectables in 2023, falling by 9%, whilst remaining one of the best-performing assets over the long term. Analysts interpreted the phenomenon as a correction following years of very rapid growth rather than a structural collapse of the sector. The consolidation phase intensified in 2024, but the market continued to show signs of selectivity in 2025 as well, with a 10.9% decline over the 12-month period.