SCYFOOD > Japanese Whisky Karuizawa 1981 35 Year old Eight Headed Dragon Contact Customer Service ENQUIRY Karuizawa distillery 軽井沢蒸溜所 was a Japanese whisky distillery. It was located at Miyota, a town on the southern slopes of an active complex volcano, Mount Asama, in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1955, the distillery began production in 1956. It was owned by Mercian Corporation and was the smallest in Japan. It was mothballed in 2000, and closed in 2011, The remaining whiskey stock from the distillery was purchased and re-branded, then released as a series of luxury whiskies. Bottled at cask strength, this is one of several 35 year old releases depicting Japanese mythology on their labels. The Eight Headed Dragon on this label is borrowed form the cover of a popular series of stories published by Hasegawa Takejiro in the 18th century. The dragon is named Yamata no Orochi. 70cl/54,4%