KARUIZAWA 1960

CREATING THE WORLD'S RAREST JAPANESE WHISKY

SERVICES →
Brand strategy, Creative strategy, Packaging design, Storytelling,

Karuizawa – Japan’s smallest distillery – closed its doors in 2000. In 2006, Number One Drinks Co. began to release single cask bottlings from its stock, which gained Karuizawa a cult following.

When a single cask laid down in 1960 was discovered, the whisky world was on tenterhooks. Cask No. 5627 yielded 41 bottles of the world’s oldest and rarest Japanese whisky. Our role? To define how it would be presented to the world.

Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design

Whisky collectors were our target audience. This passionate community deserved a collector’s item that did justice to the incredible whisky heritage. We wanted to present Karuizawa 1960 with a respect, authenticity and individuality that was befitting of a whisky of such remarkable character and quality.

THIS WAS OUR CHANCE TO ESTABLISH A NEW BENCHMARK FOR LUXURY WHISKY RELEASES.

Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design
To give the 41 bottles their own individual story and significance, we named each one after the traditional netsuke — miniature Japanese sculptures — hung around their necks, completed with handcrafted presentation cases – modelled on Japanese puzzle boxes.
Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design

The design continued the storytelling, with detail reflecting the links between Scotch and the Karuizawa distillery style. 

Dual labels made of exquisite handmade washi paper come together on the bottle, perfectly aligned. One hand pressed and hot metal branded by a craft printer in Scotland, the other with fine art calligraphy applied in Japan.

Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design
Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design
AUTHENTIC HERITAGE, RARE AUTHENTICITY
Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design
The accompanying two-sided book, in English and Japanese – features award winning whisky writer David Broom, which added an extra layer of connection to the whisky community.
Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design
Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design

ALL 41 BOTTLES WERE SOLD BEFORE THE FINAL RELEASE.

And today, auction sales repeatedly break records for Japanese whisky, achieving more than 30x the original retail price.

 

ONE OF THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER, RAREST WHISKY PACKAGING IN THE WORLD. 

 

Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design

Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design

Karuizawa 1960 Japanese Whisky | Bottle Packaging Design