It's often said that Karuizawa is all the more precious because it's gone, but countless distilleries have closed down, so Karuizawa's worldwide fame is certainly due to something extraordinary. Although for a long time initially, Karuizawa's purpose was simply to provide malt whisky for Sanroku Orson's inexpensive blended whisky (a very small percentage, so small that it had little impact on the final product), the distillery always valued the Karuizawa brewery.