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You’ve Scored Early Access. Reserve Your Set Now.

The Budō Collection – Karuizawa 35 Year Old will go on sale publicly on Thursday 19th November, but we won’t make you wait till then. We’re offering priority access to HTSI readers to bypass the waitlist and immediately secure one of these spectacular Japanese whisky sets for their own collection.

Only 43 sets have been created; Don’t miss your opportunity to own a piece of Japanese whisky history.

In case you’ve missed it, watch the unveiling video or scroll down for more information about this once in a lifetime collection.

Celebrate Japanese Excellence In Sport,
Art & Whisky

The start of a new decade is always a time for reflection. It’s a time to look back at the innovators, visionaries and the shared history that have gotten us to where we are today. As the decade begins with the world’s best athletes competing in Japan, it was a fitting time to look back at the origins and underlying philosophy that have formed the foundation of Japanese sport.

There are many parallels between Japanese sport, art and whisky. In each practice there is the pursuit of excellence that is such an important part of Japanese culture.Afterall, the Japanese believe that “if something is worth doing; it’s worth doing it in the best way possible” — this philosophy persists across all aspects of Japanese life… Including the lives of athletes, artists and distillers.

Inspired By The Martial Way

Budō is a Japanese term to describe modern martial arts, and translates literally to ‘The Martial Way’. It is a compound of the root ‘bu’, which refers to war, and ‘dō’, which means ‘the path’, and refers to the lifestyle that accompanies the discipline. The first occurrences of the world Budō date back to the 16th century, when they were used to describe the lifestyle of the samurai.

The philosophy demonstrates how important lifestyle and internal discipline are to the Japanese people, giving attention to how you should develop yourself and your mind in order to perform better. The only enemy in modern budō is oneself. This mindset is evident in the craft of all the artists whose work has gone into this bottle: From the master distillers who have dedicated themselves to the produce of exceptional whisky; the street artists we enlisted to produce the artwork on these bottles; and the sportspeople who continue to practice the technique, and walk the path, of modern martial arts.

Beautiful Design Showcasing Japanese Culture

Quite simply… You’ve never seen a collection like this before.The Budō Collection is among the most visually impressive whisky designs of all time. The design process began by selecting a bottle shape that is broad shouldered and tapered, representing the strength of the sportspeople who practice modern martial arts. The relatively flat face of the bottle is a great canvas for the artists, who will be hand-painting every bottle. Each of the three beautiful hand painted bottles is accompanied by an elegant hand crafted wooden presentation stand that draws influence from the traditional outdoor Sumo Dohyo and Japanese roof structures, but with a modern twist. As you place each of the sports disciplines into the arena you’ll be stuck with a feeling of pride akin to that experienced by the athletes themselves. The combination of the unique Karuizawa bottles with the artistic display results in a masterpiece that deserves the utmost appreciation.