Karuizawa 15 Year Old 1992 Vintage

Limited edition single white oak sherry butt cask #3434. Bottled 2007 for Whisky Live 2008.

308 numbered bottles of the rare Japanese single malt.

Karuizawa (Japan)

Karuizawa Distillery was established in 1956 near Miyota Town north west of Tokyo, Japan but closed in 2001 although the buildings and equipment remain. Karuizawa Distillery sits at an altitude of 850m on the foothills of the active volcano Mount Asama and used water which had drained through Asama’s lava soils. The equipment in Karuizawa Distillery included wooden washbacks and four small stills, although only three were used for malt whisky production, and sherry casks from Spain.

A lightly smoky nose with touches of dried soft fruits, tea leaf, toasted wood. Water brings out a touch of varnish, freshly lit cigar, also a candied peel aroma.The palate mixes sweetness and smokiness, and displays a chewy character with a fragrant yet earthy peatiness. The finish is initially evocative of baked clay and spices, then it returns to cigar smoke influences with a wonderful head-clearing menthol quality.