eta early june, 2026

Karuizawa: Once in a Lifetime | 700 ml / 58.4% ABV

The final official bottling from Karuizawa Distillery. Just 145 bottles. Ever.

Released by Number One Drinks to mark the 70th anniversary of Karuizawa’s founding — and to close the book on one of the most mythologized distilleries in whisky history — Once in a Lifetime takes its name from the Japanese philosophy of ichigo ichie: every encounter is singular, never to be repeated.

This is a vatting that spans the distillery’s entire 45-year working life, combining liquid distilled from the 1960s through to the final run in 2000. In a single pour, you taste the full arc of Karuizawa:

• The smoky power of the early years
• The wild, shape-shifting complexity of the 1980s — what aficionados consider the distillery’s true peak
• The bright, fruity elegance of the final period, when ex-bourbon wood joined the distillery’s signature sherry casks

The presentation matches the liquid. Each bottle arrives in a handcrafted cedar box from Kyoto, built from staves of original Karuizawa casks. The label, designed by master karakami artisan Kira Karacho, is printed on washi paper using traditional woodblock techniques — every single one is unique.

Karuizawa fell silent on December 31, 2000. The distillery was demolished in 2016. With this release, the curtain falls for the last time.

A whisky you may only ever see once.