HISTORY Our origins

Iwamurada in Shinshu has long flourished as an important transportation hub.
At the beginning of the Edo period, it developed as a post town on the Nakasendo highway and many people passed through it.
It was around this time that Totsuka Heiemon, the founder of Totsuka Shuzo, moved to the area from Suruga Province (present-day Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture).
As a retainer of the Tokugawa clan, he was put in charge of governingthe area around Iwamurada.
It is said that he used the sake brewing knowledge he learned in Suruga to start making the unrefined sake doburoku.
More than 360 years have passed since then.
With a single-minded dedication to quality, this small sake brewery has been providing comfort to travelers along the highway for 16 generations, its long history making it one of the top three sake breweries in Nagano Prefecture. Taking advantage of the blessings of nature in the cool air and pure water at the foot of Mr. Asama, and local rice, and preserving traditions as they accept new challenges in the face of changing times, they brew fine sake that soothes the souls of those who drink it.

The former Karuizawa Whisky was produced at a malt whisky distillery once owned by Mercian. Known for its dedication to using Golden Promise barley malt and sherry cask aging, it used water from the Asama mountain range and fermented in wooden vats. Distillation was done carefully in four relatively small pot stills, and the whisky was aged slowly in ivy-covered warehouses.
Despite its acclaimed taste, the distillery was permanently closed in 2012. All pot stills and equipment were dismantled, and the remaining stock in the warehouses was sold off. As a result, there have been no official bottle releases, and today, the whisky is available only in limited releases from select independent bottlers.
Its rarity and flavor have since been re-evaluated, leading to a surge in worldwide popularity. Bottles listed at auctions have fetched high prices, drawing considerable attention. Now, it stands as one of the legendary labels, incredibly difficult to obtain.

Shigeru Totsuka first encountered the old Karuizawa Whisky while he was in training at a liquor wholesaler's in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, in the days before he took over as master brewer. Profoundly impressed by the depth of flavor of the whisky, Totsuka resolved to bring Karuizawa whisky back to life with his own hands. after becoming the 16th generation master brewer. However, it was a difficult road, and overcoming the building conditions and land use restrictions of the Karuizawa area proved more challenging than he had imagined.
It took 13 years from finally acquiring the land to founding the company. Driven by that fateful encounter, he invited Yoshiyuki Nakazato, the last factory manager of the former Mercian Karuizawa Distillery, to join the company and the first distillation was successfully completed in 2022.
Coincidentally, the following year, 2023, marked the 100th anniversary of Japanese whisky. And so, a new chapter in the story of the Karuizawa Whisky Distillery begins.