Karuizawa Vintage 1973

1. Karuizawa Vintage 1973 cask 6249 56%
Bottled March 2008. American Oak Sherry Butt. Bottle 216 of 342
Martin's Selection of Single Casks
A bottle for the Norwegian Market, selected by Martin Tønder Smith

Karuizawa

A very delicate nose meets me, sweet strong wine, dried fruits, sweet wet woods, actual very sweet nose on the verge of being too much, but its not too much ! Fantastic nose

The palate is surprisingly dry, what you expect from the nose is just not there, slightly bitter and fruity, the whisky is extraordinarily oily in it's texture. The alcohol and intensity makes this a powerful sweet fruit bomb.

The finish is dominated by a nice fruityness of canned pears and sweet fresh apples. So basically a sweet nose that goes very fruity on the palate and finish with a hint of bitterness

Rating 88

Last drams of 2011 part 4

Karuizawa 1967 cask 6426, 58.4%
The Whisky Exchange 10y online anniversary, bottled 24/8-2009

The colour and looks of this whisky reminds me of balsamico.

Nose :

Boiled in fruit, leather, and a bit of the inside of a pair of wellingtons.

Palate

Extremely oily on the verge of being gritty without being it at all. Dried fruits, Ris a lamande cherry sauce, a long finish. A drop of water brings up wood notes , and a little sweetness, a sweetness you would have thought would have been there from the start, but this is actually a surprisingly non-sweet sherried whisky. Very unlike any other whisky I have a tasted, an exceptional good dram, the leather taste is dominating, and leather is usually something I pick up in Lagavulin and old Ardbegs. No noticeable peat or smoke in this Karuizawa

Rating 89

Cleaning out my samples - part 2 of 5

Japanese whiskies can be somewhat difficult to relate to distillery wise. Some of their distilleries have a set of different stills and produce different styles, so it takes an in-depth research to really get acknowledged

1. Karuizawa 12yo 40%

Karuizawa has more or less been closed since 2001, but has reached legendary status in Europe due to a series of excellent casks being bottled by Number One drinks

Nose: Powerful sherry, cherry, sweet wood, tropical fruits

Palate: Roasted nuts, almonds

Finish: Short and nutty

Rating 81

Comment: Powerful on the attack but thin and a little bitter on the finish. ABV ?

2. Inverleven 26yo 53.7% DTC
Duncan Taylor rarest of the Rare
12.1979-11.2006, cask 5662 193 bottles

Nose: Sweet marcipane, slight nutty and solvents

Palate: Weird nutty flavours with being that good nor unpleasant. Some sweetness and a bit rough

Finish : Medium

Rating 81

Maybe there's a reason Inverleven hasn't become cult!