Karuizawa Distillery was established in 1955 in the foothills of Mount Asama, an active volcano north-west of Tokyo, to make single malt in as traditional a manner as possible. At 850 metres above sea level, the distillery was the highest above sea levels in Japan; low temperatures and high humidity provided an ideal micro-climate for whisky production. This 36 Mountains Changzou cask strength bottling was distilled in 1999-2000 and, like all Karuizawa whisky, it is highly collectible today.