Springbank is one of the most highly sought-after whisky producers from the once-prolific Campbeltown region.  When Springbank was established on the site of a former illicit still by Archibald Mitchell in 1828, it became the 14th licenced distillery in Campbeltown.

Springbank 1:1

The Springbank Distillery in Campbeltown produces single malt whisky that reflects the region's coastal character. Discover rare releases and old vintages

Springbank Campbeltown single malt whiskies 

Springbank

When it comes to whisky, the conversation has long been dominated by maturation – on how long the liquid spends slumbering in which cask, on how big the cask is and what it held before, whether a Sherry butt, wine barrique, first-fill Bourbon barrel or the fashionable mizunara. Recently, there’s been an increased focus on the base product, with producers such as Waterford’s Mark Reynier championing single-site, single-barley, terroir-driven whiskies (and rums, with his Renegade project). But, somehow, there’s a tendency to skip on by the magic that happens in between: distillation.  While grain whisky is column distilled, malt whisky is almost exclusively distilled in copper pot stills – indeed, it’s a legal requisite for Scotch whisky. Crafting these copper beauties is an art – and one that depends on a handful of specialists. Kentucky has Vendome, Germany has Kothe and CARL, Italy has Frilli and Scotland has Forsyths. The equipment these coppersmiths produce lays the foundation the DNA of its new-make.  To the untrained eye, these onion-shaped pieces of kit look almost identical, but the size and shape is distinct to each distillery – defining its style. As distilleries expand and increase production, they don’t buy a bigger still – but commission exact replicas of their existing still(s), with every dent and dimple carefully recreated. Macallan, famously, replaced all its stills when building its new state-of-the-art distillery in 2018, asking Forsyths to create 36 stills that were identical to those it had previously used.  Although there have been attempts to use other metals, copper has long been favoured for distilling – originally for its pliability, making it easy to work and shape. But by the early 20th century, it was apparent that copper had other benefits – stripping the spirit of impurities. As the vapour rises through the still, it reacts with the copper, capturing sulphur, cyanides, carbonates and acids, meaning the liquid that is eventually collected is purer. Coppersmiths play on this purifying effect to create a range of stills, for the longer the vapour spends in contact with the copper, the lighter the spirit you’ll produce. Take Glenmorangie’s tall, 17-feet-high stills which produce a very light spirit, and compare them to the small, squat stills and typically heavy spirit of the Macallan. Of course it’s not quite as simple as that. As well as the ratio of copper to liquid, the speed of distillation, the shape of the still, the size of the neck, the level of reflux, the angle of the lyne arm and venting of stills all have an impact.  Rothes-based Forsyths has been hammering copper into shape for Scotland’s leading distillers for over 150 years. Richard Forsyth OBE (who has now passed management of the business to his son, Richard Jr) was the third generation of his family to run the coppersmiths. The frank, self-effacing Scot remembers working in his father’s workshop aged 15, “I knew this is what I wanted to do… I found it fascinating.” And after 55 years, his eye still twinkles when he talks about the arch of a still’s swan neck, the art of wielding a planishing hammer and the characters that make the industry so interesting.   He joined the family business in 1967 – at what happened to be a pivotal moment for the industry. During the Second World War, the whisky business ground to a halt – and with it the need for stills. In the 1950s and ’60s, however, the industry grew rapidly – too rapidly, it turned out. What was a golden era turned into a whisky lake, with many distilleries soon mothballed. Forsyths – for whom 99% of its business was servicing the whisky industry – had to find something else to pay the bills, and it was up to Richard to find that something else. They branched out first into paper, then stainless steel and – by the late 1990s – oil and gas. Although coppersmithing remained the foundation and heart of the business, these other disciplines became the main money-makers until the early 2010s, when whisky’s current boomtime set in. Today, Forsyths maintains over half of the pot stills in Scotland. For a wash still (distilleries that double-distil have wash and spirits stills, first distilling the wash into “low wines” and then distilling the “low wines” into new-make spirit), the head, neck and condenser wears out in eight to 10 years, while the pot itself may last 25. Add to that developing new stills for the thriving industry – as well as their expansion into rum, Bourbon and tequila – and the company’s not short of work.   Although there is clear resistance to change with an industry that is entrenched in tradition, things have shifted, slowly but surely, over the years. And there have been two significant changes over the last century that have transformed the Scotch whisky world: the firing of stills and the nature of condensers.  When shell-and-tube condensers were invented in the 1880s, as an alternative to old-fashioned worm tubs, it took time for producers to be persuaded. Although shell-and-tube condensers are significantly more efficient and take up much less space, they are completely different – with the copper surface area at least 20 times larger, something which has a key impact on the spirit. To this day some producers (15 to be exact – including Craigellachie, Mortlach, Glen Elgin and Springbank, the latter only for their wash still) retain their worm tubs, valuing the heavier, richer, more complex (and in some instances, even meaty, savoury) spirit character.   Traditionally stills were direct-fired – heated by flames fed by peat, coal or gas. “It’s dirty, messy, difficult to handle – and to control,” Forsyth tells me. A push for safety and efficiency saw producers switch to using steam in the 1970s. But some argue that this shift wasn’t for the better. Fire created a less consistent heat, with hot spots that would burn the wash and promote Maillard reactions (the same reaction that takes place when you brown meat, or during the bottle-ageing of Champagne or other traditional-method sparkling wine) – adding nutty, roasted notes that build complexity, or so proponents would argue. Glenfarclas is known for having briefly dallied with steam before returning to direct-firing, along with the likes of Macallan, Glenfiddich and Springbank.  As the whiskies of this pre-modernisation era – Scotch’s so-called “golden age” – become increasingly coveted, distilleries (both new and old) are looking to recreate these practices. Along with traditional floor maltings, producers like Glen Garioch (owned by Suntory) and Dunphail are investing in direct-firing. (Although, with worm tubs no longer produced, new distilleries have little choice regarding shell-and-tube condensers.)  However they are fired, given their custom nature, copper pot stills don’t come cheap. Much of the work continues to be done by hand, hammering to strengthen and finish the copper. Stills can range from 5,000 to 50,000 litres in capacity, but an average 15,000-litre still and its condenser will require between 1,800 and 2,000 manhours, and set you back around £250,000. And that price has only increased recently, thanks to rising energy and material costs – with a copper shortage proving challenging for Forsyths, a business that is the UK’s second-biggest buyer of the metal.  With the distinct nature of stills and their impact on spirit, plenty of new producers will ask for copies of a particular distillery’s stills – wishing to emanate their style of spirit. Forsyth tells me how one Japanese customer requested a pair each of Macallan, Glenlivet and Glenrothes stills. While of course there are many problems with this imitation game, there’s also no guarantee – as Forsyth tells me – that the same equipment will have the same results, especially when not run with the same wash, in the same way, by the same people. And, of course, a company like Forsyths isn’t going to give away Macallan’s proprietary designs, for example. As such, they’ll recreate something similar, but ensure it’s tweaked so no two distilleries have exactly the same design.   But how much impact do stills really have on the final spirit? Despite his half-century in the trade, Forsyth is quick to suggest, “I don’t think a lowly coppersmith can talk too much about that.” He’s clear that you need good equipment to make good spirit, but it’s one factor in amongst everything else – the barley, water and fermentation times, for example. And how a still is used is as important as its shape or size, with both the speed of distillation and the all-important cuts – dividing the heart from the foreshots and feints. Forsyth firmly believes that good wood is “the single biggest effect in a bottle eight, 10 or 12 years later”. There’s little use having a good base spirit if it’s ruined by a decade in bad oak – but good oak also can’t salvage bad spirit.  Forsyth has seen it all during his 55 years in the whisky business – and has been forced to be as malleable as the metal his family has worked for generations to survive the booms and busts. Despite the challenges, the coppersmith is as enchanted by his trade as when he first picked up a hammer in his father’s workshop. The industry will doubtless continue to ebb and flow, but with a spirit that takes decades to produce, the pace of change is reassuringly gentle. “It almost goes as slow as the running of the spirit,” Forsyth says whimsically. The still room remains the beating heart of distilleries – the basis of a producer’s fingerprint, all thanks to the careful hammering of the artful coppersmith.  Browse all current Scotch whisky listings or read more about spirits  

There’s something romantic about the bulbous sheen of a copper pot still. These behemoths glimmer with the promise of fine spirit – but it’s rare that we talk about what happens within. Sophie Thorpe sat down with Richard Forsyth OBE of Scotland’s leading coppersmiths, Forsyths, to find out more 

Cult coppersmiths Forsyths on the art of crafting copper pot stills for the biggest names in Scotch whisky – and how they define a distillery’s spirit style

How copper pot stills define whisky styles

Copper craft: the art of the still

The spirits market is booming. In October 2019, a bottle of 1926 Macallan FINE+RARE 60-Year Old became the most expensive bottle (of either wine or spirits) ever sold at auction in the world, going for £1.5 million – £300,000 more than the same whisky had sold for a year before.  That record may not have been broken yet, but it’s likely only a matter of time. There was a 33.37% increase in the volume of single malt Scotch whisky sold at auction in 2019, with 143,895 bottles sold, worth close to £58 million – a 41.54% increase on 2018. Over the last 10 years, rare whisky has outperformed every other alternative luxury asset, with 353% growth to 2020 Q2. “The rare whisky market has performed phenomenally well over the last decade, outperforming many other categories. We’ve seen growing demand in premium whisky from clients globally,” says Craig Norton, our Managing Director for the UK and Ireland. In five years, we’ve seen the number of spirits buyers rise by 601%, with spirits sales in the same timeframe growing by 698%.  It’s an exciting time for whisky, with a growing international audience as Scotch whisky exports rise (105% in the last 10 years), especially in developing markets like China (up 323% in 10 years). There are also an increasing number of younger consumers diving into the category nose-first; Sotheby’s first online spirits auction last year saw 42% of buyers aged under 40.  The market has so far been dominated by a handful of the biggest names in single malt Scotch, with The Macallan representing an astonishing 40% of the market by value; however
Japanese whisky isn’t far behind. A bottle of 55-year-old Yamazaki sold for HK$6.2 million (US$795,000) in August last year, setting a new record for the category.  The now-closed Karuizawa has become a cult name among collectors, and had something of a halo effect, as our Head of Spirits David Walters said, “Japanese whisky is still going crazy. We sold the Karuizawa Pearl Geisha 37 Year Old (56.9%) pre-release for £12,500 in bond; just a year later it was going for £24,800. The most expensive single bottle of whisky we’ve sold was a Yamazaki 50-year-old (2011 release), for £170,000.” The last two to three years has, however, seen a shift, with a new focus and interest on not buying just bottles but whole barrels or casks. “The ability to personalise or customise single cask bottling has proven extremely appealing to clients,” Norton says, “However, it’s not simple. Barriers can be a lack of understanding of value, the process of maturation or
reselling, or gaining access to the market.”  “The challenge can be guaranteeing provenance,” explains Walters. “Our preference is always to work directly with the distillery.” The IWSR estimates the value of the Scotch whisky cask market at $40 million – and forecasts a trend for cask sales in other categories, such as Bourbon, rum and other US whiskey. While occasionally we see more mature casks (such as a mature Macallan Sherry butt we sold last year, for £600,000), it is more common to see casks as futures, much like en primeur.  Given the long-term timeframe for producing fine whisky, with the first product often not released for five or 10 years, cask sales have fast become a way for the rising number of new distilleries to build revenue in their early years. It is rare for casks to be sold after the first year of production, however, making them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get in on a new distillery – one that may just be the next big thing. It’s this excitement, Walters says, that should attract buyers who are also in it for the journey. Naturally, “founders’ casks” – as they are known – are finite in supply, adding to their appeal for collectors. The spirits market remains dominated by single malt Scotch – with Brora, Karuizawa, Dalmore, Bowmore and Springbank amongst the most collected names – but consumers are branching out. “We’re beginning to see collectors diversify their portfolios,” says Walters, “discovering premium and collectable rums.” He highlights the popularity of Caroni – a Trinidad distillery, no longer in production, that has parallels with Karuizawa – and Hampden, in particular. Fortunately, Covid seems to be having little impact on sales. Even in the last year, the
market has seen 12% growth; as Knight Frank reports, “Anecdotally, drinkable investment classes have always down well in a downturn, perhaps as their owners have looked to drown their sorrows.” In fact, IWSR data shows that “between 2008 and 2012, global prestige-plus
spirits (generally $100+) grew 82% in volume, and almost 230% in value, [reinforcing]
the resilience of high-end spirits after economic challenges”. Nevertheless, our advice is always to buy only what you are prepared to drink – a worst-case scenario that few wine or spirits lovers find much of a burden. Browse all whiskies or read more Editorial

The spirits market has seen a decade of astounding performance – but what is happening, and what should you be looking to buy? 

The spirits market is booming. We take a closer look at the spirits market and explore what is happening, and what should you be looking to buy 

The spirits market overview 

In high spirits: market overview

2001 Château la Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux “A couple of weeks ago, in an attempt to try and cheer up ‘Lockdown 2.0’, I decided to order a fancy takeaway from a favourite local restaurant. It was a classic French menu – pâté to start, boeuf bourguignon for the main course, all topped off with a tarte tatin. To further brighten up the evening, I wanted to open something special from my collection, and landed on a bottle of 2001 La Mission Haut-Brion (it really had to be something French to go with  that menu!). It was the ideal accompaniment, perfectly in its drinking window. It was full of dark red fruit, and – while being absolutely strong enough to stand up to the strew – was also wonderfully elegant. Everything was exactly as it should be, this is a stupendous wine, wonderfully balanced, perfectly pure and just downright delicious.” Rose Saunders, Senior Sales Manager 2015 Domaine de la Grange des Pères Blanc, Pays d’Hérault “Perhaps my favourite quality of a truly great wine is its power to make any occasion special. That being said, many of my most memorable wine experiences are those which aren’t planned – as was exactly the case with this bottle of 2015 Grange des Pères Blanc. During a weekend break in Cornwall last month, I managed to bag a last-minute booking at Outlaw’s New Road, and on opening the wine list this line immediately caught my eye – a rare find at fine wine merchants, let alone on restaurant lists. I asked the waiter, who to my great disappointment told me the last bottle had sold earlier that day. However, Outlaw has a second restaurant down the road, and having confirmed they had one bottle left, he promptly jogged down a very steep hill, and back, to fetch it. “The wine itself is simply unlike anything else: 90% Roussanne with a little Chardonnay and Marsanne, made by a man who trained under François Coche-Dury, G’erard Chave and Eloi Dürrbach. The 2015 is still very young, a behemoth of aroma, flavour, structure and texture.
 Decanted and enjoyed over five hours, it was almost overpowering to begin with – with rich tropical fruit, spice, garrigue herbs, candied lemon and intense minerality. Continually softening and evolving with time, exhibiting an extraordinary array of nuances, this is a masterclass of how to balance raw power with freshness and finesse. One of the best bottles I’ve had this year, thank you to the brilliant team at Outlaw’s New Road for going the extra mile.” Simon Brewster, Senior Sales Manager Sennachie, 40-year-old, Cask #83/254-3, Blended Scotch Malt Whisky “Five undisclosed Speyside and Highland whiskies distilled in 1975, married in 1983 at the age of eight years, and thereafter aged at Springbank Distillery Campbeltown: this is the intriguing make-up of Sennachie’s 40-year-old Cask #83/254-3, a release of 195 bottles and one of the most fascinating whiskies I’ve had the pleasure of drinking. There are five single malt components to pick out, although it’s debatable whether it actually matters. They are in perfect harmony from the outset, with a delightful nose of honey, oranges, shortbread and sweet cinnamon spice. The palate is balanced with red apples, white chocolate and salted caramel. It’s complex and immensely drinkable. The only downside is the spirit’s unique nature; this combination of whiskies and events cannot be repeated, so it’s worth enjoying it while you can.” David Walters, Head of Spirits 2000 Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru, Domaine Leroy “I had the privilege this autumn to taste one of the latest releases from Burgundy’s legendary Domaine Leroy, the 2000 Clos de Vougeot, in a restaurant setting – a rarity for 2020 – making the event perhaps even more special. Big, boisterous, but charming too, this perfect-condition bottle displayed epic concentration and a staggering purity of fruit, something Lalou notes of her 2000s. There was a tautness to everything, like a snake coiled and ready to pounce. Still youthful and gleaming, the perfumed nose was compelling and seemed to fill the entire room! A wine that stops you in your tracks and reminds you why Burgundy continues to run the world.” Tony Cody, Senior Sales Manager 2010 Gaia, Grosset, Clare Valley, Australia “It’s relatively rare for me not to drink French – but at my first post-lockdown meal at the Harwood Arms, this caught my eye on the list. I’ve long been a fan of the Grosset wines, and while Polish Hill may be the wine that gets the most press, they’ve clearly been putting effort into Gaia – a Cabernet that now stands up there with the world’s best. This, now a decade old, was still deeply coloured with an expressive nose of dark fruit (ripe blackberries, plums) with underlying tertiary notes. On the palate, the acidity lifted the overall ripe fruit profile from this warm vintage in South Australia. Concentrated and structured, with polished tannins, dried herb notes added complexity to the long finish. Caught at just the right moment, this was drinking beautifully – perhaps all the more so with the sweet taste of freedom.” Corentin Margier, Head of Buying Browse more Editorial 

Each month, we ask a handful of our team to pick a wine or spirit they’ve tasted recently – a bottle that surprised, delighted or merely lived up to high expectations. Here’s what they chose

Each month, we ask a handful of our team to pick a wine or spirit they’ve tasted recently. Here’s what they chose

Our team names their top bottlings

In the glass: what our team is drinking

If you journey to the northernmost prefecture of Japan you will find Hokkaidō. Venture deeper into the Japanese island’s stunning national parks and forests and you’ll find its native quercus crispula – the mystical mizunara. Measuring up to 30 metres in height, with long, curved branches and broad leaves, the Japanese oak tree is undeniably majestic. In recent years, this humble tree, favoured by luxury furniture makers, has become an incredibly highly sought-after commodity in the whisky world for the slightly unusual characteristics of sandalwood, coconut and incense it imparts. It is so desirable, in fact, that a single barrel can easily cost 10 times the amount you’d pay for a standard Sherry cask. If you can get your hands on one at all, that is. Mizunara hasn’t always been as desirable as it is today. In fact, track back 10 to 15 years and very few people had heard of it, let alone deigned to put their beautifully crafted whisky in it. Its popularity neatly coincides with the sudden rise of Japanese whisky and Suntory’s decision to release a whisky that had been aged, albeit fleetingly, in this Japanese oak. What many didn’t realise at the time, and arguably still don’t to this day, is how problematic the mystical mizunara is to cooper, source and use as a maturation vessel. It takes approximately 200 years before a mizunara tree reaches the desired diameter for a cask (70-80cm). It doesn’t grow in a straight line, which makes creating staves a bit of a logistical headache for coopers. It has an extremely high moisture content (mizunara literally translates as water oak), and contains more knots than other woods, which is an issue when trying to make a cask watertight. It is also porous and prone to leakage. It's fair to say that it’s not a natural choice, and historically it wasn’t used in this way. Japanese distillers traditionally used European or American oak to mature their whisky because they were heavily influenced by Scotch traditions. But a shortage of casks during and after World War II forced them to look closer to home, to their native oak tree. Fast forward to today and the number of mizunara-finished whiskies is at an all-time high. As a consequence, mizunara barrels have only become more difficult (and expensive) to source. Andrew Rankin has worked in the whisky industry for 47 years – what he doesn’t know about casks isn’t worth knowing and his connections are enviable. None more so than his relationship with one of the oldest independent cooperages in Japan, from whom he sources a steady supply of mizunara for his new Scottish Highlands distillery Ardross. He describes the Japanese oak as a “fairly recent phenomenon” that was kickstarted by Suntory – a company he knows exceptionally well from his 20-plus years at Morrison Bowmore – where they filled an “absolutely tiny percentage” of Yamazaki into mizunara a decade ago. In the years that have followed, Rankin has been watching the mizunara market closely and is sceptical as to whether there is enough supply to meet demand. “It took me years to persuade Suntory to give us some mizunara casks,” he says. “At that time, I think it was 2010, we got three used mizunara casks and we got three new mizunara casks – and that was it. And it was a one-off. We weren’t getting a regular supply of it.” Even with his connections, Rankin says he doesn’t get a committed volume of mizunara each year because it is dependent on the level of deforestation and the quality of the wood. “We were due to get 20 [barrels] in at the beginning of this year,” he says, “but we still haven’t got them because of selection problems with the wood and shipping problems.” He’s hopeful they’ll arrive before the year is out, but there’s no guarantee. From the people I have spoken to, this lengthy wait is par for the course. East Asia Whisky Company’s Christian Leusder says it takes “approximately three years before you receive a good-quality mizunara barrel”. When you’ve parted with a staggering £8,000 per cask – five times the cost of a standard European or American oak barrel – it can be galling when other producers punt for a mediocre cask, which is only partly made from mizunara or is made from multiple trees, and sell their whisky for a similar price. These, arguably, poorer imitations can be with the buyer within a month or two because they take far less time to cooper and ship. Leusder believes the “massive” difference in cask pricing and considerable delay is worth it to produce something that isn’t just “bandwagon [and] off-the-rack”. Another bone of contention regarding mizunara is the length of time the whisky has spent in barrel, and whether the cask is fully or only partly made from the Japanese oak. Suntory UK Brand Ambassador James Bowker says the Japanese whisky behemoth is “lucky” to have a “relatively consistent, quality supply chain” that has been established over many years. These relationships enable them to fully age whiskies in single casks rather than cask transferring or finishing. “You’ll see this practice across our portfolio where we use mizunara,” he says. “It gives a more rounded, complex, tertiary profile rather than a simple hit of the primary cask notes.” However, Bowker is quick to acknowledge this expensive process which requires a “significant” time investment is not always possible – financially or otherwise – for some producers. Rankin says he really doesn’t know where all these producers are sourcing mizunara casks from because they are, naturally, far more scarce today than they were a decade ago. He is also sceptical about how long some of these whiskies have spent in mizunara and believes it takes at least five years to get any influence from the wood. “At the moment, you could put your whisky in a mizunara cask, roll it about on the floor, and say it is mizunara-cask-finished,” the Master Blender says. “And you probably know, and I probably know, that it is going on.” The people who don’t know, Rankin says, are the end consumers because producers are not currently required to be transparent about this on the label. East Asia Whisky Company’s Leusder picks up the point. “If you look at what Chivas Regal are doing, they are producing a lot of mizunara single malt whiskies which are just finishes and they don’t actually have an age statement so you don’t know how long they’ve been in there,” he says. “And I personally can’t really taste the mizunara out of it.” He continues: “Finishes can be gimmicky. They can go wrong. And they do not always yield the best product.” This is one of the reasons East Asia Whisky Company dips their toe in the mizunara pool but has no intention of fully submerging its feet. Its current Macallan mizunara series stops after the third release. A mizunara-finished Springbank and Bowmore release will follow, and then Leusder says the team might try and get their hands on a younger vintage and decide to age it in mizunara until the 40-to 50-year mark, when it will no longer be a finish. Dr Bill Lumsden, the genius behind Glenmorangie and Ardbeg for the past 26 years, has pioneered experimentation on every aspect of whisky production. It is telling that he has never released a product with mizunara oak in it. He says it is the taste profile, rather than sourcing and porosity, that puts him off the Japanese oak. “If I was to take Glenmorangie new-make spirit – and I’m neither confirming nor denying that I have done this – and mature it in a new heavily-toasted mizunara oak cask for 12 years, at the end of the day, I would have something that would probably taste a little bit bizarre,” he says. Lumsden says he always recalls doing a tasting in conjunction with The Glenlivet Master Distiller Alan Winchester and Suntory Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo in London when Fukuyo presented a fully mizunara-matured whisky. Lumsden struggles to remember if it was Yamazaki but remembers the taste profile with crystal-clear clarity. He describes it in just two words: “bewilderingly strange”. Coming from a man who invented the Russian-oak matured Ardbeg Kelpie, which he says has elements of “the smell of burning rubber when a car has screeched away”, this is quite the review. Casting an eye to the future, there is little doubt producers will continue to release mizunara-finished whiskies – certainly in the short to mid term. Leusder says he thinks it will always be popular simply because it’s so rare, but predicts there will be a larger and widening gap between high and low quality. “There will be less and less of the high and more and more of the low,” he says, “and the market will be more and more confused as to which is which.” When pushed, Suntory’s Bowker says he absolutely thinks the trend will continue and other categories will start using mizunara. But, he adds with trepidation, that he hopes producers will “respect this special wood and ensure that consumers get to experience it at its best rather than being tempted by more affordable shortcuts as you so often see in this industry”. For the time being, at least, it seems like the mystical mizunara is going to continue to enchant producers and drinkers alike. And, unless things drastically change, the onus will be on the whisky drinker to watch out for the sorcery and find the magical liquid that undoubtedly exists. Browse all spirits or read more Editorial 

Mizunara has everybody spellbound. The Japanese oak – once relatively unknown and troublesome – is now desperately sought-after. Holly Motion speaks to some of the biggest names in the cask industry about what they really think of the mystical wood

Exploring why the Japanese oak mizunara – once relatively unknown and troublesome – is now desperately sought-after in the whisky world

Investigating the rare Japanese oak, mizunara

The mystical mizunara

Closed Japanese whisky distillery Karuizawa is a phenomenon. For its entire operational life, it was barely known inside of Japan, let alone internationally. Yet today, its whiskies are recognised globally as amongst the finest and most age-worthy ever bottled and today is one of the most sought-after labels in the burgeoning rare whisky investment market. Bottles of Karuizawa continue to break all the records. Just last month a bottle of Karuizawa 52YO (1960) Cask #5627 became the most expensive Japanese whisky ever sold at auction, a single 70cl bottle selling for £366,000. So, what is it that drives the demand and what qualities do bottles of Karuizawa possess which others don’t?  Like most whisky distilleries, its origins are humble, and the astonishing demand is relatively new, closely paralleling the upward trajectory of the rare whisky market over the past ten years.  Limited production  By Scottish whisky distillery standards, Karuizawa had a short lifespan. Established in 1955 it was operational for only 46 years before being closed in 2001, a consequence of an economic slump domestically which impacted an industry with limited exports at the time.  Although now synonymous with single malts, the first spirit to leave the still in 1956 was destined for blending and this continued until a switch in focus and the release of its first single malt in 1976. At the time Karuizawa was said to be Japan’s smallest distillery and so the relatively short years it was active, coupled with a relatively low capacity to produce single malt, led to an always limited amount of whisky on the market. Moreover, after lying dormant for well over a decade, Karuizawa was eventually demolished in 2016 by its then-owners Kirin
Brewing Co, dashing any hopes of a revival. Karuizawa's unique character  Fitting for such an extraordinary distillery was its extraordinary location on the southern slopes of one of Japan’s most active (category A) volcanoes – Mount Asama. Named after the town in which it was based, Karuizawa is under two hours by train northwest of Tokyo and at the time of writing is the only town to have hosted both summer and winter Olympic Games
events.  The cold snowy winters, summers with up to 80% humidity and cool average annual temperature of eight degrees, creates specific atmospheric conditions ideal for whisky maturation. These conditions have been credited with creating the unique characteristics of Karuizawa single malt – the ability to age gracefully for many decades, whist retaining an abnormally high alcoholic strength and concentrated complex flavour. In terms of raw materials, it is rumoured that The Macallan may have been the inspiration. It is certain
that they sourced the same grain and wood having imported Golden Promise barley
from Britain and Sherry casks from Spain. Distribution  Had it not been for the formation of specialist Japanese whisky distributor Number One Drinks Co. in 2006, it is quite possible Karuizawa would have never entered whisky enthusiasts’ consciousness on the scale it has today. Founded by Marcin Miller and David Croll, it was after a cask sampling session in 2009 and after learning production had ceased, that they bid to purchase the distillery. The bid was rejected but a counterbid to
purchase the inventory was accepted after protracted negotiations making Number
One Drinks Co both owner and distributor of Karuizawa whisky.    Export markets beckoned and soon London-based retailer The Whisky Exchange and Parisian-based retailer La Maison Du Whisky would be blown away by what was presented to them and began bottling casks for an initially sceptical European market. Quality cannot be ignored however and a joint bottling in 2009 by the aforementioned retailers was compared with some legendary Scotch whisky bottlings when reviewed by respected whisky blogger Serge Valentin describing the Karuizawa 42YO (1967) Cask #6426 as “a Japanese masterpiece… once again, this baby reminds me of some old Springbanks. Say of the best sherried ‘Local Barleys’, if that rings a bell to you.” 95 points. Karuizawa-mania ensued, fuelled also by the success Japanese whisky was experiencing as a category on the international stage, most notably Hibiki and Yamazaki scooping numerous ‘World’s Best’ awards and receiving critical acclaim including the famous Jim Murray Whisky Bible award for Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 Edition, reported in the mainstream media as ‘Japan beats Scotland’.  The finite supply, increasing demand and sheer quality of the whisky meant Number One Drinks Co had an increasingly valuable commodity. Ever the purist, Marcin is reported to have soon tired of the spiralling secondary market prices and decided to sell off what remained of the reported 364 casks they originally owned and went on to found Japan’s first-ever gin distillery (Kyoto Distillery) trailblazing within a new category with Ki-No-Bi gin.    Presentation You’d be forgiven for being a little underwhelmed by the presentation of some early releases of Karuizawa. A case in point is the previously mentioned Karuizawa 42YO (1967) Cask #6426, which at the time was the oldest Japanese whisky. Now retailing for £20,000 inc VAT, it consists of little more than a glass bottle, white sticker label and thin cardboard box. At
the time of release however there was no precedent for the returns Karuizawa would achieve on the secondary market and at a release price of £250, considered expensive at the time, most were indeed opened and drunk.  Today, the most high-profile releases of Karuizawa are collected and displayed like works of art. The Karuizawa Pearl Geisha’s by Elixir Distillers are a stunning example of how the presentation can entice collectors and send secondary markets into a frenzy. They were a 2019 release exclusive to FINE+RARE and consisted of just 71 bottles of a 37YO Karuizawa and 172 bottles of a 38YO. When these two bottles are placed side by side, the
labels form a mirrored image of a Geisha visually as impressive as the whisky itself.  These were the fourth release in the series so not only were collectors desperate to get their hands on these two but also the previous editions and any future ones.  The future of Karuizawa No one knows exactly how many ‘new’ Karuizawa releases there will be. The remaining casks Number One Drinks sold are said to have gone to three buyers who control the market and have been releasing intermittently since. What we can be sure of is there is very little left to be bottled and we are witnessing the final years of releases after which the number of bottles in the market will only decrease year on year.  The story of Karuizawa is already legendary and it is one which cannot be repeated. For future generations of whisky enthusiasts all that will be left is the ever-decreasing supply and the chapter of Karuizawa in the history of Japanese whisky. In addition to the final releases however, there will be whisky for future generations which is intrinsically linked to Karuizawa.  Although the distillery site was completely demolished, the pot stills that created the unique ‘new make’ were rescued and are already producing spirit which is being laid down at Shizuoka Distillery. There was also one final run in the old distillery site in 2006 by Ichiro Akuto of Chichibu Distillery fame. A 2006 distilled Karuizawa crafted by Ichiro Akuto is something that we hope to one day see.   Browse all available Karuizawa or read more Editorial 

Bottles of Karuizawa continue to break all the records. Just last month a bottle of Karuizawa 52YO (1960) Cask #5627 became the most expensive Japanese whisky ever sold at auction when a 70cl bottle sold for £366,000. So, what is it that drives this demand? We investigate

Closed Japanese whisky distillery Karuizawa is a phenomenon. Find out about the distillery that has produced some of the world's finest bottlings

Karuizawa, Japan's most expensive whisky

Karuizawa: Japan's most expensive whisky

Navigating the world of whisky sometimes requires a compass. This glossary aims to untangle some of the most common terms that trip people up when it comes to the production and enjoyment of whisky

A guide for all the commonly used and misunderstood terms in the world of whisky. You’ll find everything you need to know when purchasing and enjoying whisky.

A comprehensive guide to whisky terms

Whisky glossary

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