Karuizawa 30 Years Old 1984 Cask #8838 (LMDW)

Karuizawa was a small single malt distillery in Nagano Prefecture, operating from 1956 until its closure in 2000 and demolished in 2016. Run by Mercian with a strong emphasis on Oloroso sherry maturation, imported Golden Promise barley and small pot stills, the distillery produced a singular style of dense, dark, dried-fruit whisky that grew in international standing after its closure. Cask #8838 was distilled in 1984, matured for 30 years in an Ex-Sherry Cask and bottled in 2015 by La Maison du Whisky for France at cask strength.

At 61.6% and after three decades in Ex-Sherry wood, the spirit arrives with both power and complexity, carrying dried fruit, warm baking spice, leather and a persistent woody finish built through the long Nagano winters. Released the same year as its sibling cask #5410 from the same bottler, this is among the most aged of the LMDW Karuizawa programme and shows the depth of integration that the distillery's best long-matured casks achieve.