Karuizawa 42 Years Old 1970

700ml / 64.5%

Single Malt

$11875

Hay-like and leafy, with the dry, waxy quality of aged spirit that spent 42 years in a 450-litre Ex-Sherry cask, this 1970 vintage Karuizawa single cask was bottled at cask strength in 2012 for the European market, a distinctive expression from Nagano’s closed distillery.

In stock

Available

SKU JP0550 Categories Japanese Single Malt, Japanese Whisky, Karuizawa, Whiskey

Description

Karuizawa distillery in Nagano Prefecture operated from 1956 until its closure in 2000. This 1970 vintage single cask was held in a 450-litre Ex-Sherry cask for 42 years before bottling at cask strength as a distillery release for the European market in 2012, at 64.5% abv.

The large format 450-litre cask means a lower wood-to-spirit ratio than a standard butt, giving the maturation a more measured pace and allowing the spirit character more room. The flavour data records hay-like and leafy notes, which at this age point to the waxy, slightly vegetal quality of long-matured Karuizawa spirit in former sherry wood, rather than the dense dark-fruit richness of a standard sherry butt. The residual sherry influence brings dried fruit and spice into the background while the spirit character stays prominent, at a cask strength of 64.5% in an intense but distinctive bottling from the 1970 distillation year.