Karuizawa 35 Years Old 1978 Cask #8383 (LMDW)

Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture ceased production in 2000, and the relatively small number of Ex-Bourbon aged casks from the distillery offer a contrasting view to the dominant sherry style. Cask #8383, distilled in 1978 and bottled in 2014 by La Maison du Whisky for the French market, was drawn from an Ex-Bourbon cask after 35 years of maturation.

The cooked fruit note recorded for this cask develops differently in bourbon wood than in sherry, leaning toward baked apple and vanilla rather than dried prune and chocolate. At 63% cask strength the whisky retains the concentration that very long Karuizawa maturation provides, and the La Maison du Whisky selection marks it as a curated release from a respected French independent that helped introduce the distillery to European audiences before its reputation reached its current standing.