Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Laying Down Your Cards - Hanyu The Jokers


The final cards of the deck are in play. The long awaited Jokers of Akuto Ichiro's "Card Series" are finally out - the last remaining cards of the whisky series that has gained cult status world wide. The patiently awaited Jokers are naturally very limited (well at least one Joker is in terms of outturn) and will be in very high demand. For quite some time there was a lot of speculation as to when the Jokers would be released and whether or not there would in fact actually be two versions of the Joker to complete the famed series (colour /black & white). Yesterday, Venture Whisky sent an email to their distributors revealing what many of you already knew - information has been circulating on the net for some time. The colour version of the Joker is a vatting of 6 vintages from 1985 through to the final Hanyu vintage of 2000 (cask types: sherry butt, puncheon, hogshead, cognac, chibidaru, maderia hogshead, and bourbon). This tasty sounding vatting has produced an outturn of 3,690 bottles and is bottled at 57.7% abv. The second Joker in black, white, and shades of grey however is a single cask with a release of 241 bottles from 1985 (cask# 1024), bottled at 54.9%, and finished in a Mizunara hogshead. Prices will naturally differ depending on the retailer but the suggested retail price for the colour Joker is 14,000 yen (excluding tax), while the single cask Joker has a recommended retail price of 36,000 yen (excluding tax). At this stage it is not clear when the Jokers will officially be sent out from Chichibu therefore, as to when they will hit the shelves all depends. Although this is extremely exciting news for fans alike, some hardcore enthusiasts of the "Card Series" have expressed both happiness and sadness, the former for obvious reasons, but its the later which has become the new topic of discussion. For many the final "Cards" mark the end of an entertaining era, an era in which some have been there from the beginning right to the end (painstakingly accumulating each and every card). While some take the news sadly others seem to embrace the final expressions (Jokers) in the series as it opens doors to new possibilities, themes perhaps (naturally depending on the small amount of casks left, and what Akuto-san plans to do with them). Wouldn't it be good to see one last injection/fix - additional releases to the "Card Series"? A release along the lines of say the "Playing Series" - Royal Flush, Full House, Black Jack etc etc. Perhaps I'm living in a fantasy world!

Whiskies R Us review of the the colour Joker can be viewed (here).

7 comments:

  1. Maybe the vatting will hit the shelves Clint but I have no doubt the single cask is already sold. I'm not sure whether the end of the Card Series will be the saddest day for lovers of Hanyu, but certainly if it was the last release of Hanyu it would be a time for serious mourning.

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    1. I spent the day yesterday visiting a few shops out of interest, it seems like most places couldn't even obtain 1 bottle of the monochrome single cask, well so they said, and these were a few big establishments. Some said they couldn't even get the colour version for their shop, way to much demand. It's a bit disappointing to hear that some shops couldn't get hold of anything for their devoted customers.

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  2. Shame the majority will end up in the hands of speculators and not real fans Clint.
    Seems like only yesterday I picked up a bottle of Ichiro's Malt the Game 1 for Y7600 and they sat on the shelves of Shinanoya Shinjuku for over 6 months!!!

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    1. Well, it appears that has happened already. Unfortunately bottles have began to hit the resale market, for an astronomical price, here in Japan, on a certain auction site. As far as I know most establishments in Osaka / Kobe who were able to secure an order still haven't received it, therefore it's not on the shelves (well, it wasn't yesterday), but we already can witness speculators putting them up for sale. Again, seeing this makes it very disappointing to the shops who couldn't secure anything.

      Interesting about the Game 1, most of us are most likely kicking ourselves for not getting something that seems so cheap in today's market. Ah....the thought of a Hanyu for 7,600 seems like another life time. Guess that's what supply and demand creates, among other things.

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  3. Hmm. I've already put down my name with my local LMdW. That's where i got my couple of cards previously. Fingers crossed.

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    1. I'd say you would have a better chance obtaining them at your local LMdW opposed to some places here, well at least in Osaka/Kobe. Some retailers in Kansai are yet to receive their orders. Good luck Andy, I'll keep my fingers crossed also.

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    2. My website dedicated to Hanyu Playing Card Series is now updated with all 58 versions, and more. See:
      http://www.buxrud.se/webb/

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