Karuizawa – 1969/2012 42 Year Old Cask #8183 (70cl, 61.3%)

This is a single cask Karuizawa distilled in 1969 and bottled in 2012 at a cask strength of 61.3%. It spent 42 years in a 400 litre ex-bourbon cask, number 8183, and filled 426 bottles of 70cl. The distillery closed in 2011, although it had stopped producing whisky more than ten years earlier. The nose is floral, with pink, lilac, cornflower, tuberose and iris, alongside leather, chocolate milk, spices, baked apple and citrus. The palate is dense, with oak tannins, spices, salted butter caramel, vanilla and coconut. The finish is long, with soot, marmalade, quince jelly and lavender honey.