Karuizawa 12 Years Old

Karuizawa distillery in Nagano Prefecture operated from 1956 until 2000, employing small pot stills and an unusually high proportion of imported Golden Promise barley. This 12 Years Old bottling, listed as a Blended Malt, was released for the global market at 40% abv, placing it among the more widely distributed expressions from a site whose remaining stock grows ever scarcer.

Matured in Ex-Bourbon casks over 12 years, the whisky builds on American oak's vanilla and gentle cereal sweetness, a profile distinct from the deeply sherried, richly fruited older single casks that dominate Karuizawa's collector reputation. With no additional flavour data provided, the typical bourbon-wood influence here is expected to yield a lighter, rounder palate that nonetheless carries the spirit character from those distinctive small stills.