“Fugaku Sanjurokkei” is a series of landscape prints by the prominent Japanese ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) artist Hokusai. The term literally means “36 Views of Mount Fuji”, for which Hokusai depicts Mount Fuji from different locations in various weather conditions. Karuizawa has adopted the theme and introduced Fugaku Sanjurokkei Series, exhibiting one of the 36 striking prints in each release. These releases are drawn from casks of 1999 and 2000 vintages and bottled at cask strength.
Karuizawa distillery sat in the foothills of Mount Asama, where the chilly climate provided an excellent condition for whisky making. Though small, this distillery was known for producing whisky of the finest quality. The distillery was closed in 2011 and hence has made the Karuizawa whiskies extremely rare and valuable.
The 1999-2000 cask strength series comes from the final years of the distilleries production. This comes from the same batch of casks as the highly popular Karuizawa Asama series. The 10th edition presents the “Kajikazawa in Kai Province”.
This bottling comes in a picture of Echigoya Mitsui Clothing Store, today known as Mitsukoshi, Japan’s largest modern department store. The store became very successful after adopting a new business practice, payment in cash at time of sale, instead of accruing charges to customers’ accounts. By eliminating the traditional practice of billing customers only once or twice a year, the store was able to sell goods at reduced princes. Let's propose a toast to those working hard in the society with a glass of Karuizawa Whisky!
