A 29-year-old Karuizawa from a Spanish oak oloroso butt, chosen by Cask Norway and Cask Sweden for their Cask by Cask label. It was distilled on 29 November 1984, bottled on 13 October 2014, and came out at 56.7%.
About This Whisky
Number One Drinks bottled this cask for two Nordic importers, and the outturn was split between them. Norway received its half in 2014, and the Swedish half followed in March 2015. European oak oloroso wood gives Karuizawa its most classic profile: tobacco leaf, cigar box, prune and old roses. With nearly three decades in the butt, the cask shows that style clearly without tipping into bitterness.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Tobacco leaf, worn leather and cigar box, then black tea, prunes, raisins and old roses.
- Palate: Warm and rich. Forest fruit jam, cinnamon and cocoa, with polished oak.
- Finish: Long and gently drying, with spice, resin and dark fruit.
Serving & Food
Serve in a copita at room temperature and sip it slowly. A few drops of water bring the rose note forward. Smoked reindeer or aged Gouda suit it, and a cup of black tea on the side works too.
How to Enjoy
Anyone after a textbook oloroso Karuizawa with an unusual Nordic back story.
Product Details
Distillery: Karuizawa (closed)
Label: Cask by Cask, for Cask Norway and Cask Sweden
Distilled: 29 November 1984
Bottled: 13 October 2014
Age: 29 years old
Cask: Spanish oak oloroso sherry butt #7802
Bottler: Number One Drinks Company
ABV: 56.7%
Country: Japan
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
The Karuizawa name travelled thanks to two Britons in Tokyo. Marcin Miller and David Croll ran Number One Drinks, an importer of Japanese whisky. Around 2011 they bought the final casks left at the closed distillery, a few hundred butts and barrels, some dating back to the 1960s.
Kirin, which owned the distillery by then, had considered the stock as blending material. Miller and Croll instead bottled it cask by cask for shops, importers and collectors, and that turned a little-known malt into a global name.