The two casks, numbered #6195 and #888, achieved a combined total of £4.25 million, at £2.125m apiece.

The casks came from the private collection of whisky expert and collector Sukhinder Singh, who has described his first encounter with Karuizawa as “a special and captivating moment”.

Their appearance at auction was a notable rarity in itself; as Christie’s observed, full casks of Karuizawa are almost never offered publicly. Each yields approximately 420 bottles and presents the buyer with the singular opportunity to shape the whisky’s future maturation, bottling, and release.

Founded in 1955 and nestled in Japan’s Southern Alps, Karuizawa benefited from a distinctive microclimate – cold winters, hot summers, and high humidity – that concentrated its rich, complex character during maturation in ex-Sherry casks. Its 12-year-old expression became the first Japanese single malt to reach the domestic market in 1976, though it attracted little fanfare at the time before eventually achieving cult status. The distillery closed in 2000, and it was not until 2007 that distributor Number One Drinks conducted a tasting of remaining cask samples. When news broke in 2010 that the site was to be demolished, the company acquired the surviving 364 casks, The Drinks Business reports.

Both casks sold at Christie’s were distilled in 1999, the distillery’s final year of production, yet Singh notes they are markedly different in character. Cask #6195, bottled at 61.8% ABV, displays less wood influence and is “fresher and fruitier [by Karuizawa standards]”, whilst #888 is described as “richer and more Sherried”.

Adam Bilbey, global head of wine and spirits at Christie’s, said the team was “incredibly proud” that the casks had found new custodians. He noted that their provenance from Singh’s collection, one of the most respected in the world of rare whisky, lent them additional distinction, and described the result as “particularly thrilling” in Christie’s 60th year as a department.