Karuizawa 39 Years Old 1972

Karuizawa operated as a single malt distillery in Nagano Prefecture from 1956 until its closure in 2000. This 1972 vintage single cask was matured in an Oloroso sherry butt for 39 years before bottling at cask strength as a distillery release for the global market in 2011, at 63.3% abv.

With nearly four decades of Oloroso contact at this age, the cask's contribution is deep and complex: dark dried fruit, leather, bitter chocolate and the slow oxidative depth that defines the distillery's most celebrated releases. No separate flavour profile was recorded for this cask, but the typical Karuizawa Oloroso butt at this age is expected to produce a richly layered profile with the waxy, small-still spirit character woven through a dense, concentrated sherry foundation. The global market release indicates a bottling intended for broader international distribution, notable given the finite nature of the remaining stock.