Karuizawa 16 Years Old 1991

Karuizawa distillery in Nagano Prefecture had an extraordinary ability to deliver dense, sherry-saturated malt at relatively modest ages, a reflection of its small pot stills, Golden Promise barley and the absorptive quality of the Oloroso casks it used. This single cask from the 1991 vintage spent 16 years in an Oloroso sherry cask and was bottled in 2007 at 62.5% cask strength for global release.

At 16 years the spirit is already deeply engaged with the sherry wood: dark chocolate, stewed plum and a leathery dried-fruit weight arrive before the typical mid-range profile of older Karuizawa releases. The 62.5% ABV amplifies the wood extraction, giving a bold, intense dram that shows why the distillery attracted collector attention well before many of its contemporaries. A younger expression from a closed distillery that rewards patience on the nose before revealing layers in the glass.