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This is an extremely rare, extremely old bottling from the exulted Karuizawa distillery in Japan. Aged for just over 48 years in a 400-litre Sherry Oak cask, at the time of bottling, it is the oldest expression from this now closed distillery. This single malt whisky lay undisturbed in a traditional dunnage warehouse at Karuizawa before being transported to Chichibu for bottling. Being a single cask whisky, only 143 bottles are available, each individually numbered and presented in a dark wooden box fashioned in part from Polish black fossil oak. Karuizawa 1964 Cask #3603 is bottled at natural cask strength (57.7% abv), is non-chill filtered, and retains its natural colour.
This bottle was part of a private collection.
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Tangerines intertwine with sweet spring blossoms before yielding to freshly-dug earth, and hushed myrrh and styrax. Flowers repeat undercut and enhanced by the earthy quality - wet moss emerges from the undergrowth. Hewn trees warmed by the sun and lovely perfumes linger.
Age does not deplete the force of this potent dram. Spiced orange chocolates and rich oak pervade with savoury dark sugars covering the mouth. Well-balanced throughout, it stands up well to water. Softer balance reveals itself as the alcohol is soothed by the water.
Long, lingering, pleasantly drying, and gently spicy. A dram that will live in memory, not just for the rarity, but for the flavour.
Capturing the essence of the Japanese value of harmony, this whisky truly provides an exceptional experience across all senses and is far-and-away extraordinary.
Hi there! The bottle is number 41. --The Chaps at Master of Malt
What is the number of the bottle you have in stock?
well deserved pat on the back and shake of the hand for the post above. I'm not spending 9k on a bottle of anything either, but value for money is all a relative business. I'd rather spend £100 on a bottle of whisky and have 10 nice glasses than I would 10 bottles of wine for a tenner each - because I prefer the taste, enjoyment and experience of good whisky. Other people think I'm nuts to blow a ton on a bottle of drink. On another note: how the hell does this retain 57.7% after 48 years in cask!!
...just wait until the 1960 comes along...
It’s difficult to argue that there is much value in the review of a product which the author hasn’t, in fact, tried. However, in an effort to present the other side of the “it’s expensive, so it must be a rip-off” argument which inevitably crops up every time a release like this is made available, here goes. Some things are expensive, some things are cheap, and people tend not to agree on which is which – for some people spending more than £20 on a wristwatch (or a bottle of whisky) is a terrible waste of money, for others spending less than £100 might seem foolish – why, just think how much more you’ll enjoy the £100 watch than the £20 one? If someone would rather have the thing than the money, who are we to stop them? It’s all a matter of degree and perspective – almost everything we buy would be considered expensive to our parents. Does paying £2.40 for a latte represent good value for heating up 11p worth of ingredients? Of course not! Unless it does, unless you’d rather have the frothy coffee than the money in your pocket, in which case it is. I can’t afford to spend £9k on a bottle whisky, in fact I can’t afford to spend £9k on a car, but if I had a few million in the bank and that amount of money were neither here nor there to me I might well indulge myself with a bottle like this – the drinking of which would, I’m sure, be a unique and remarkable experience. From the reviews I’ve read of this bottling, it sounds utterly delicious – I love Japanese whisky and this is a good 20 years older than anything I have ever tried. I would dearly love to see what that additional maturation does for one of my favourite spirits.