Karuizawa 41 Years Old 1971

Karuizawa was a small single malt distillery at the foot of Mt. Asama in Nagano Prefecture, operating from 1956 until its closure in 2000 and demolished in 2016. This 1971 vintage single cask was matured in an Oloroso sherry butt for 41 years before bottling at cask strength in 2012 as a distillery release for the Taiwan market, at 62.8% abv.

Karuizawa's use of Oloroso sherry casks, combined with the cool, slow-breathing mountain climate of Nagano, is what built the distillery's reputation. Forty-one years in a sherry butt draws out all the dark-fruit density that defines the distillery's most celebrated releases: aged figs, dried plum, mocha, leather and the slowly oxidising weight of old wood. The cask strength bottling at just under 63% delivers this without dilution, with the waxy, small-still spirit character woven through the dense sherry contribution. One of the most characteristic Karuizawa formats available.