Karuizawa 30 Years Old Cask #3656

Karuizawa distillery in Nagano Prefecture operated from 1956 until 2000 and was demolished in 2016. Known for small pot stills, Golden Promise barley and heavy Oloroso sherry maturation under Mercian, the distillery is now represented entirely by its surviving casks. This is cask number 3656, a single cask expression released at 30 years old in 2014, bottled for the German market.

Three decades in an Oloroso sherry butt has resulted in a spirit of deep colour and concentration. Dark plum, ground coffee, clove and old leather layer over Karuizawa's characteristically full, rich palate. At 60.8% cask strength, the intensity is considerable: the sherry butt has given the spirit density and grip that only long maturation in a large vessel can produce. Cask 3656 is a document of what the Nagano distillery was capable of across three decades.