This summer the distillery’s incredibly rare 1981 vintage single cask malt whiskies are being released in exclusive sets, encased in stunning, bespoke Glencairn Crystal glassware and lunawood casing.

Each exquisite set includes two bottles of the precious Japanese single malt whisky, one from each of two remaining casks (no. 4059 and 6183). Only 30 sets of ‘The Legend of Asama’ are available and will be released over a three-year period.

Aged for 20 years at the Karuizawa Distillery, these casks were transferred to Chichibu Distillery, Saitama Prefecture, where their custodian was Ichibori-san, the legendary former distiller at Karuizawa.

In recent years Karuizawa whisky has become celebrated within the whisky world and highly sought-after amongst whisky collectors. The Karuizawa Distillery was based at the foot of Mount Asama, one of Japan’s most active volcanoes, in Central Honshu. The site was perfect for whisky making – there was no shortage of snow melt from Mount Asama and it was volcanic-rock-filtered and mineral rich. This aided fermentation and contributed to the clean, crisp flavour of the whisky. Temperate summer temperatures and cool winters were ideal for maturing the spirit.

Only a tiny quantity of Karuizawa was released as a single malt during the distillery’s lifetime and almost all of that only ever released in Japan. When the Japanese economy collapsed during the 1990s, Japanese whisky distilleries began to close, Karuizawa Distillery included, sadly closing its doors in 2001: it was later demolished in 2016.

After several years of negotiation, in 2011 the remaining stock of 364 casks were sold and since have gradually been bottled and sold – many achieving phenomenal prices at auctions: until now only two casks were remaining. Renowned whisky collector and connoisseur Mahesh Patel, Founder of Universal Whisky Experience, chose casks 4059 and 6183 in 2011 and kept them at Chichibu Distillery to continue their maturation until 2017 when some of the whisky was bottled and sold in tiny batches. The last remaining bottles from each cask have been held back until now, for this exclusive ‘Legend of Asama’ release.

Patel said: “I am extremely excited to finally be releasing this very special whisky to the world. I wanted to ensure that when these exceptional whiskies were released, they were presented in a beautiful way that could tell the story of their turbulent past and be celebrated by the person lucky enough to purchase them. This vision, along with Glencairn Crystal’s creativity and innovation has brought a part of this spectacular distillery back to life.”

The bottles in which the Karuizawa malt is presented are decorated with Noh masks – the Noh is Sino Japanese for skill, craft or talent which well describes the care with which the whisky has been made. Noh theatre is a unique form of dance-drama performed in Japan since the 14th century integrating masks, elaborate costumes, props and music with chanted drama and dance based on old traditional tales.

The packaging and presentation of the sets has been produced by the award winning Glencairn Crystal Studio in East Kilbride, Scotland – the creators of the world’s favourite whisky glass, the Glencairn Glass.