Karuizawa distillery was a Japanese whisky distillery located at Miyota, a town on the southern slopes of an active volcano complex, Mount Asama, in Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture.  The distillery was founded in 1955 by Daikoku Budoshu, a large wine and spirits producer, and began production in 1956.  In 1959, it became the first distillery to export whisky overseas.  The smallest distillery in Japan, it initially only produced whisky intended for blends, but in 1977 the company changed its course and started to release single malts as well.  Karuizawa bottlings never made an appearance on the international market during this period, and the distillery was mothballed in 2000. The first independent bottlings of Karuizawa started to appear in 2007.  Sadly Karuizawa distillery closed in 2011; the land on which it had stood was sold in 2012.

This rare 17-year-old expression was exclusive to the Japanese market and released when Karuizawa was still under the old ownership of The Mercian Wine Company.

Boxed