Karuizawa 1983 Noh Single Sherry Cask 28 Year Old #7576

Karuizawa distillery was established in 1955 in the town of Miyota on the southern slopes of Mount Asama. It began production the following year, producing single malt for the Ocean blends from Daikoku Budoshu. Initially it was difficult for the distillery to obtain malt, but a lift on import restrictions in 1958 meant the distillery was able to experiment with the production of a Speyside-esque product, importing the same golden promise barely used at Macallan, and sherry casks. The subsequent quality of output saw it appearing in Japan as a single malt for the first time in the 1980s. Sadly, the Japanese whisky market was not strong at the time, and Karuizawa was closed in 2001 by owners, Mercian, and eventually dismantled. Its legacy is lives on however, with its still relocated to other distilleries in Japan, but predominantly in the hugely sought-after single cask releases that began to appear in 2007, from independent bottler, Number One Drinks. It is now one of the most prestige single malts on the planet, the reverence for which only grows as the remaining stock continues to thin.

This Karuizawa was distilled in 1983 and matured in single sherry butt #7576 for 28 years. It was bottled in 2012 as part of the Noh Whisky series.

The Noh Whisky series was a pioneering collaboration between Karuizawa distillery and Noh theatre. Noh is one of Japan’s traditional performing arts, and each release carries a mask used in performing. This cask carries the Chorei variation of the Beshimi mask, used to portray a goblin.

One of 571 bottles.