Karuizawa 27 Years Old 1984

Karuizawa was a Nagano Prefecture single malt distillery operating from 1956 until its closure in 2000, with the site demolished in 2016. Under Mercian ownership, the distillery ran small pot stills with imported Golden Promise barley and matured the large majority of its output in Oloroso sherry casks, creating the dark, leather-and-dried-fruit character that has made surviving casks highly sought after. This official single cask was distilled in 1984, matured for 27 years in an Oloroso Sherry Cask and released by the distillery in 2011 for the Swedish market at cask strength.

At 59.3% and 27 years in Oloroso wood, the profile sits comfortably within Karuizawa's house range: dark cherry, dried figs, leather and a warming spice, with the malt's Golden Promise sweetness providing balance beneath the sherry layer. The Swedish market release is one of several Scandinavian-focused distillery bottlings issued in the early 2010s as the distillery worked through its stored inventory across select international markets.