Karuizawa 39 Years Old 1973

Karuizawa distillery in Nagano Prefecture operated from 1956 until its closure in 2000. This 1973 vintage single cask was held in an Oloroso sherry butt for 39 years before bottling at cask strength as a distillery release for the French market in 2013, at 67.7% abv.

At 67.7% this is one of the highest abv releases in the Karuizawa range, indicating a cask with notably low evaporative loss over nearly four decades, preserved at concentration rather than depleted by the mountain climate. Nearly 40 years in Oloroso sherry butt builds deep layers of dark dried fruit, leather, mocha and the dense, slowly oxidising richness that defines the distillery's most intense casks. The cask strength at this level amplifies every component: wood spice, sherry extract, the waxy spirit underneath and the complex dark-fruit depth of a well-matured sherry butt pushed close to its limit. A powerful document from the 1973 distillation year.