A uniquely rare bottle of Karuizawa 1960 Cask #5627, known as “The Prototype,” will lead Sotheby’s Whisky & Whiskey auction on 18 September, presented as part of Sotheby’s Nightcap series at the Breuer. 

Estimated at $400,000–600,000, the bottle is expected to be the highest-value lot among the Nightcap offerings and represents an exceptional opportunity to acquire what is today regarded as one of the most coveted Japanese whiskies in the world.

Distilled on 1 February 1960, Cask #5627 was the oldest cask in Karuizawa’s inventory when the remaining casks were acquired following the distillery’s closure. Karuizawa ceased distilling at the end of 2000 and, following a subsequent change of ownership, the distillery itself was ultimately demolished. With no possibility of Karuizawa ever producing whisky again, the remaining casks became a finite and constantly diminishing source of one of Japan’s most sought-after whiskies.

Cask #5627 contained very little liquid when it was acquired, ultimately yielding just 41 commercially available bottles of the celebrated Karuizawa 1960 vintage. Matured for 52 years, the whisky was the oldest Japanese whisky ever bottled at the time of its release. Each bottle was labelled with traditional Japanese washi paper and individually identifiable by a carved wooden “netsuke” character.

Before this 1960 Hogshead was disgorged, however, two bottles were drawn directly from the cask and hand-filled into glass, each on a separate occasion. The bottle offered at Sotheby’s was filled on 20 December 2012, before the commercial 1960 vintage was bottled, making it one of only two bottles ever drawn and hand-bottled directly from Cask #5627 prior to its commercial release. It is therefore known as “The Prototype.”

The bottle was hand-filled by Osami Uchibori, Karuizawa’s legendary final Master Distiller, who had worked at the distillery since 1960, the year Cask #5627 was distilled. Its label was completed by hand and is accompanied by a certificate, also handwritten and signed by Uchibori, confirming that he filled this rare bottle. The Prototype liquid was drawn at a notably higher strength of 58.3% ABV, compared with the 51.8% ABV of the “standard” version of the 1960.

The cask also has a remarkable auction pedigree. In March 2020, a Karuizawa 52 Year Old Zodiac Rat Cask #5627 sold at Sotheby’s London for £363,000 (approximately US$435,273), ranking among the highest prices ever achieved at auction for a single bottle of whisky at the time and setting a record for the Karuizawa brand.

More than a decade after its release, Karuizawa 1960 Cask #5627 remains a landmark in the history of Japanese whisky. With its extraordinary age, extremely limited production, pre-release bottling and direct connection to Osami Uchibori, the bottle embodies the rarity, craftsmanship and heritage that have made Karuizawa one of the most sought-after names in collectible whisky.

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