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findhorn · the library
file nº 5 · first printing
the specimen · shown whole · every file on the shelf reads like this
frontier file · spirits · store of value
2022
Revival-era Karuizawa new-fill casks, sold direct before the 2033 first bottling
New-make casks under the resurrected Karuizawa name, sold at retail terms while the ghost original hammers full casks above £2m each.
filed 17 july 2026
what it is
Whole casks of new-make spirit from the Karuizawa revival ventures, launched around 2022. Totsuka's Karuizawa Whisky Company sells via Dekantā; rival KDI built Komoro nearby. First bottlings land 2026 to 2033.
who trades it
Direct buyers through Dekantā on the primary side. The ghost-name comparables trade among obsessive collectors at Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, and Whisky Auctioneer.
value drivers
·Proven ghost-name equity: two original 1999 casks reportedly hammered £4.25m combined at Christie's.
·Scarcity by design: Komoro output pegged near one tenth of Yamazaki.
·Long maturation floor: Totsuka commits to a ten-year minimum age, first bottling 2033.
·Collector depth: single-owner Karuizawa sales like Kodawari cleared £1.78m across 150+ bottles in 2023.
catalyst
Two funded revivals restarting the name on legacy soil, with the 2022 cask allocation already selling out before any brand recognition or auction record exists for the new liquid.
the five axes
ENTRY
Unverified. No asking price surfaced for either venture; the 2022 Totsuka allocation sold out. Comparables: original full casks near £2.125m each, entry-tier original bottles from roughly $2,500. Thin.
CARRY
Komoro cites angel's share under 2% per year. Storage, insurance, bottling, and duty terms for revival casks were not sourced. Unverified and thin.
LIQUIDITY
Illiquid until first bottlings: roughly 2026 for Komoro, 2033 for Totsuka. Original Karuizawa bottles clear within months at auction, but new-fill has no secondary record yet.
EXIT PATHS
Private resale of the cask contract to collectors chasing the name; Bottle at maturity and consign to Whisky Auctioneer or Sotheby's; Sell to an independent bottler or trade buyer; Drink it, the floor for any whisky cask
BARRIER
Buyers must separate the two rival ventures, verify trademark rights to the Karuizawa name, and read contract terms in a market with zero cask-level price coverage.
the marks
collector community
prices rising inside
clears at specialist sales
no structured coverage
language amplifier
Bottle-level indices exist; cask-level and revival pricing are uncovered. Rising prices are historical, and one source notes a stumbling 2024-2025 whisky market.
why overlooked
Revival casks sell direct through a retailer with no auction record, no index, and no comparison framework. Headline ghost-bottle prices bury them, and the two-rival structure confuses outsiders. Key caveat: no revival asking price was found this run, so mispricing is inferred, not measured.
the next moves
the field kit
the kit opens the venues · searches prewritten in the native key · a venue without a link is named, never invented
monitoring
With a subscription this find goes on watch: a weekly check of its markets, an email when a piece is listed for sale.
neighboring pockets
Sub-£5,000 single-cask Karuizawa bottles
The entry tier of the original ghost, clearing from ~$2,500 at Whisky.Auction while headliners take the coverage.
Hanyu Card singles below the set-completion premium
Lesser Cards trade near £16,000 while full-set records approach $1.5m; completion demand drags singles upward.
Other Japanese ghosts: Kawasaki, Shirakawa, early Mars Shinshu
Unresearched this run; search budget expired before comparables were priced. Thin but structurally similar.
sources: The Drinks Business, full-cask and Kodawari sale reports · Sotheby's, Scenes of Japan and Kodawari Karuizawa sales · The Spirits Business, revival venture coverage, 2022-2023 · Whisky Hunter Karuizawa distillery aggregation
figures unverified unless sourced · thin data stated as thin
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findhorn · intelligence only · not investment advice
first printing · 17 july 2026