Karuizawa 29 Year Old Single Cask #8897

Distilled in 1984 at the now-silent Karuizawa Distillery, nestled at the foot of Japan’s Mount Asama, this 29-year-old single cask whisky represents a unique piece of Japanese distilling history. Originally established to create malt for blends, Karuizawa uniquely employed Golden Promise barley and matured its spirit, in this instance in a bourbon cask (#8897), developing a robust and characterful profile. Bottled in 2014 at 53.9% ABV, it offers a complex taste reflective of a distillery that, despite its quality, fell out of favour during a changing Japanese market. This rare expression captures the distinctive spirit of Karuizawa before its closure in 2000 and subsequent demolition, a testament to a bygone era of Japanese whisky production.