Karuizawa 19 Years Old 1991

Karuizawa distillery operated in Nagano Prefecture from 1956 until its closure in 2000. Under Mercian, the distillery favoured small pot stills, Golden Promise barley and Oloroso sherry casks in a combination that produced some of the most distinctive single malt whisky Japan ever released. This single cask from the 1991 vintage was aged 19 years and bottled in 2010 at cask strength of 60.8% for the Japanese domestic market.

Nineteen years in Oloroso sherry develops the layered dark-fruit and leather profile that defines Karuizawa, with stewed cherry, mocha and dried leather sitting over a firm, waxy malt base. The domestic Japanese market allocation is among the more limited destinations for vintage Karuizawa single casks, and this release reflects the full sherry-forward character the distillery built its posthumous reputation on. Undiluted and single cask, the expression is as direct as the wood gave it.