Karuizawa 29 Years Old (TWE)

Karuizawa distillery operated in Nagano Prefecture from 1956 until its closure in 2000, working with small pot stills and imported Golden Promise barley under the Mercian group. The site was demolished in 2016. This single cask expression was selected and bottled by The Whisky Exchange for the UK market in 2014 at 29 years of age, making it among the more mature single cask releases at the time of bottling.

Unusually for Karuizawa, this cask spent its long maturation in Ex-Bourbon oak rather than the Oloroso sherry casks that define most of the distillery's output. Twenty-nine years in American oak brings a different perspective: vanilla, dried apple, beeswax and light spice take the lead, with the distillery's characteristic richness beneath. At 53.9% cask strength it is approachable for its age, and the bourbon cask gives it a profile distinct from the darkly sherried bottlings that dominate the Karuizawa canon.