Karuizawa 35 Years Old Cask #7417

Karuizawa distillery operated in Nagano Prefecture from 1956 until its closure in 2000 and was demolished in 2016. Under Mercian, it used small pot stills, imported Golden Promise barley and a heavy sherry maturation programme that produced dark, richly fruited single malt of lasting reputation. This is cask number 7417, a single cask 35 Years Old bottled in 2015 for global release.

Thirty-five years in an Oloroso sherry butt represents one of the longer maturations in the Karuizawa archive. The sherry wood has had time to deepen and integrate fully, contributing black cherry, dark chocolate, old tobacco and leather over a body that is concentrated rather than sharp. At 55% cask strength the spirit is full but measured, the long years in wood having mellowed the intensity that typically comes with cask strength Karuizawa. A 35-year record of distillation that ended in 2000 and a site that no longer stands.