Karuizawa 30 Years Old (TWE)

Karuizawa was a single malt distillery in Nagano Prefecture that operated from 1956 until its closure in 2000 and was demolished in 2016. Under Mercian, it used imported Golden Promise barley, small pot stills and a maturation programme centred on Oloroso sherry casks. This single cask 30 Years Old was selected and bottled by The Whisky Exchange in 2014 for the UK market.

Matured in an Oloroso sherry cask for 30 years, this expression carries a fully developed sherry character. Dark fruit preserve, candied orange peel, warm spice and aged leather layer over a dense, concentrated base. At 58.2% cask strength the spirit holds its structure well, with the long maturation having woven the wood and grain into a cohesive whole. An independent bottler selection of a 30-year single cask from one of Japan's most significant and now-irreplaceable distilleries.