Karuizawa 13 Years Old 1999 Cask #869 (K&L)

Karuizawa operated as a single malt distillery in Nagano Prefecture from 1956 until closure in 2000, building its reputation on small pot stills, Golden Promise barley and a heavy use of Oloroso sherry casks. After demolition of the site in 2016, the remaining casks have been parcelled out through specialist bottlers and regional partners. This single cask was selected and bottled by K&L Wine Merchants in 2013 for the US market as a 13 Years Old from the 1999 vintage.

The cask was a sherry butt, Oloroso in character, and the 13-year contact produced the signature Karuizawa profile of dark cherry, prune, bitter chocolate and dried leather. Cask 869 was released at 57.7%, just below the full cask strength of many Karuizawa peers, giving the concentrated fruit and savoury spine of the distillery with slightly more integration. An independent-selected single cask from one of the final Karuizawa vintages before closure.