Karuizawa 20 Years Old

Karuizawa was a small single malt distillery in Nagano Prefecture that closed in 2000, leaving its sherry-matured stock to accumulate a following it never enjoyed during its working life. This 20 Years Old bottling, released in 2008 for Sweden at cask strength, was drawn not from a single cask but from a marriage of Dark Sherry Butt Oloroso casks, all Karuizawa vintage malt matured two decades in that intensely flavour-active wood.

Dark sherry butts give a deeper, more tannic extraction than standard Oloroso, building black cherry, roasted coffee and desiccated leather over the rich dried-fruit character typical of the distillery. The house Golden Promise malt base provides a firm backbone, and the high natural ABV ensures the texture is full and mouth-coating. This is the dense, dark Karuizawa profile at its most concentrated.