Karuizawa 25 Years Old 1993 Cask #7661 (East Asia Whisky Company)

Karuizawa 25 Years Old Cask No. 7661 is a single-cask single malt from Karuizawa distillery in Nagano Prefecture, distilled in 1993 and aged for 25 years before being bottled in 2018 by the East Asia Whisky Company for the German market at 64% cask strength. Spirit from the 1993 vintage was laid down in the final years of Karuizawa's productive life before closure in 2000, and the East Asia Whisky Company bottling gave specialist German drinkers access to the distillery's signature character.

The Oloroso sherry butt maturation has produced the dark, concentrated flavour profile the distillery was known for: dried fruit, leather, dark chocolate and a savoury, spiced depth from the richly seasoned wood. At 64% this is one of the more potent Karuizawa releases and demands water to bring out the fruit and reduce the heat. A quarter century in a single sherry butt from a closed Nagano distillery is a combination that will not be repeated.