Karuizawa 13 Years Old 2000 Cask #166 (LMDW)

Karuizawa distillery in Nagano Prefecture produced single malt whisky from 1956 until its closure in 2000. Its use of small pot stills, imported Golden Promise barley and predominantly Oloroso sherry casks under Mercian created a richly sherried style that became one of the most admired in Japanese whisky. The distillery was demolished in 2016. This single cask expression from a 2000 vintage sherry butt was selected and bottled by La Maison du Whisky, the French specialist, as a limited event release in 2013.

The cask is a full Oloroso sherry butt, and the 13 years of maturation in that large vessel at a natural yield of 64.3% cask strength has produced an intense and concentrated spirit. Dark fruit, mocha, tobacco and old leather stack over one another on the palate, with the size of the butt having allowed the sherry to integrate deeply into the grain. An independent bottling from one of the most important Karuizawa single casks to leave the distillery's final vintage.