Blanton's Takara Red Bourbon (Japan)

Price

$219.95

✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging

Age: 8-Year Minimum (Japanese Standard) | Region: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA | Proof: 93 Proof

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

Proof

46.5%

ABV

750 mL

Format

Single Barrel

Batching

Japan

Market

Takara Shuzo

Importer

Blanton's Takara Red is the collectors' name for the Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon that Takara Shuzo imports into Japan in a maroon carton: a 93-proof (46.5% ABV) single barrel bourbon, 750 mL, distilled and bottled in Frankfort, Kentucky. Takara sells it simply as Blanton's, and its own name appears on the bottle in Japanese, as the importer, on the back of the neck label.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

93 proof, 46.5% ABV — the strength of the American Original, printed on the label.

Imported by Takara Shuzo, whose Kyoto name and address sit on the neck label.

Listed by Takara as Blanton's, 750 mL in carton; Takara Red is the collectors' name.

The neck reads Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon, with ウイスキー — whisky — beneath.

A registered bottle: the back label gives a bottle number recorded with the Master Registrar.

Distilled and bottled in Frankfort by Blanton Distilling Company, the label states.

Nº 02

Takara Shuzo & Age International

Partners before 1991, one group from 1992

Takara Shuzo of Kyoto was importing and selling Blanton's in Japan in partnership with Age International, Inc. before 1991. In April 1991 the Takara group bought part of AADC Holding Company, Age International's parent, and in 1992 it acquired the rest of the shares, bringing Age International into the group. Takara's Blanton's page now lists four bottlings, each 750 mL: Blanton's at 46.5%, Black at 40%, Gold at 51.5% and Straight From The Barrel at 66%, the last sold only through selected channels. The bottle collectors call Takara Red is the first of those — the one Takara lists simply as Blanton's.

Nº 03

Construction & Identification

What the bottle records

Label

English Front, Japanese Neck

The front label is the Blanton's form completed for its barrel — dump date, barrel number, warehouse, rick number, 93 proof — handwritten on the bottle in our photographs. The reverse of the neck label carries the Japanese importer's panel: Takara Shuzo's name and Kyoto address, a malt-and-grain ingredients line and the pure alcohol per 100 mL.

Carton

Maroon, Printed in Gold

Takara lists the bottle in carton. Ours is maroon, lettered in gold with Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon above a frieze of gold racehorses, and marked 750 ML at the foot.

Registry

A Numbered Bottle

The back label states that each bottle is recorded with the Master Registrar at Blanton Distilling Company and gives this bottle's registered number, written in by hand.

Seal

Gold-Toned Wax and a Tag

The bottle in our photographs is sealed with gold-toned wax under its horse-and-jockey stopper and hung with a paper tag on a gold cord.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

Importer's note: Takara Shuzo describes the taste as rich and dense from start to finish.
Selection: Takara says each barrel is tasted on its own and drawn only once it has reached the peak of maturity.
Bottle to bottle: one barrel fills each bottling run, so weight and spice differ from one bottle to the next.

Strategic Position

Takara Red shares its 93 proof and 750 mL size with the 93-proof Blanton's sold in the United States; what sets it apart on the shelf is the Japanese importer's panel, the maroon carton and a neck label reading Single Barrel Bourbon where the American bottle reads The Original. In Takara's range it sits between the 40% Black and the Gold Edition Takara imports at 103 proof.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

→

Telling It From the American Original

Start at the neck. The American Original's neck label reads The Original Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey; this one reads Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon with ウイスキー beneath, and its reverse carries Takara Shuzo's Japanese importer panel. The maroon carton completes the picture.

→

A Name Takara Does Not Use

Takara Red is a collectors' name. Takara Shuzo lists the bottle as ブラントン — Blanton's — 750 mL in carton, and the word does not appear on the front label in English.

Collector IndexMW VAULT

Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Label name: Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon
Importer: Takara Shuzo, Kyoto
Proof / ABV: 93 / 46.5%
Batching: Single barrel
Market: Japan
Format: 750 mL

Set it beside the American and Japanese Blanton's we carry.

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Class	Bourbon whiskey, single barrel
Label name	Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon, with ウイスキー (neck label)
Proof	93
ABV	46.5%
Format	750 mL, in carton
Batching	Single barrel — one barrel per bottling
Market	Japan; imported by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd., Kyoto
Bottler	Distilled and bottled by Blanton Distilling Company, Frankfort, Kentucky (label)
Barrel record	Dump date, barrel number, warehouse and rick number on each label
Registry	Registered bottle number on the back label, recorded with the Master Registrar
Carton	Maroon, printed in gold, marked 750 ML
Wax	Gold-toned (the bottle photographed)
Distillery	Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

Takara Shuzo describes the selection as tasting each barrel individually and drawing only those at the peak of maturity. Each chosen barrel is bottled by itself: the front label carries that barrel's dump date, number, warehouse and rick, the back label names Blanton Distilling Company of Frankfort, Kentucky, as distiller and bottler, and the neck carries Takara Shuzo's Japanese importer panel.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Blanton's Takara Red?

Blanton's Takara Red is the name collectors use for the Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon imported into Japan by Takara Shuzo and sold in a maroon carton. Takara itself lists it simply as Blanton's, 46.5% and 750 mL; the label gives 93 proof and names Blanton Distilling Company of Frankfort, Kentucky, as distiller and bottler.

How does Blanton's Takara Red differ from Blanton's Original?

Both are 93-proof (46.5% ABV) Blanton's single barrel bourbons in 750 mL bottles from Frankfort, Kentucky. Blanton's Takara Red is the Japanese-market bottling imported by Takara Shuzo: its neck label reads Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon with the Japanese word for whisky beneath, the reverse carries Takara Shuzo's importer panel, and it comes in a maroon carton.

What proof is Blanton's Takara Red?

Blanton's Takara Red is bottled at 93 proof, 46.5% alcohol by volume — the strength printed on its label and listed by its importer, Takara Shuzo. That matches the American Blanton's Original; the Gold bottling Takara also imports is 51.5%.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Takara Red

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Blanton's

The Elemental Distinction

Takara Shuzo & Age International