Time Slip Karuizawa x Kawasaki Cask #6432

Time Slip is a blended series that draws on the finite remaining stocks of two shuttered Japanese distilleries: Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture, which made heavily sherried single malt from 1956 until its closure in 2000, and Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, the grain distillery that fell silent in the early 2000s. Cask 6432, bottled in 2015 for the Japanese market as a NAS release at 43%, is a single-cask expression that captures an unusual combination of malt richness and grain sweetness.

The base maturation in Ex-Bourbon wood gave the liquid its initial structure before a finish in an ex-Karuizawa cask added the hallmark influence of those Nagano sherry-seasoned barrels, bringing dark dried fruit, a trace of chocolate and the leathery depth Karuizawa's Oloroso heritage is known for. Kawasaki grain provides the tropical, heavy sweetness that underpins the blend, keeping the finish rounded rather than stern.