Karuizawa 35 Years Old 1973

Karuizawa distillery in Nagano Prefecture operated from 1956 until its closure in 2000. This 1973 vintage single cask was matured in an American oak Oloroso sherry butt for 35 years, a combination that places American oak staves in contact with Oloroso sherry, before bottling at cask strength as a distillery release for the Norwegian market in 2008, at 56% abv.

The American oak sherry butt is a distinct cask type: the oak imparts vanilla and coconut alongside the Oloroso's dark-fruit and leather contribution, producing a slightly lighter, more structured profile than the European oak sherry butts that are more typical of the Karuizawa archive. At 35 years the combination has had time to integrate, with the vanilla and coconut of American oak threading through dried fruit and spice from the sherry influence. The relatively measured cask strength of 56% gives this expression an accessible intensity for a single cask bottling of this age.