Karuizawa 15 Years Old 1994
Noh Single Cask No.270
Karuizawa 15 Years Old 1994
Noh is one of Japan's oldest performing arts, dating back to the 14th century. The image used on the front label is of a mask called Obeshimi, a type of 'Tengu' or long-nosed goblin, and is the largest of all Noh masks.
This particular label has been combined with a single cask distilled at the Karuizawa Distillery in 1994. Bottled in 2010 at natural strength, this whisky has spent over 15 years maturing in a sherry butt.
Karuizawa Single Malts have won gold medals at IWSC and ISC tasting competitions and a single cask was voted 'Best Japanese Whisky' in the Malt Maniacs awards of 2007.
The most collectable name in Japanese whisky, began life as a vineyard, beneath Mount Asama, which was an active volcano. Before the then owners, Daikoku-budoshu, decided to enter the world of whisky in 1955. A brave move given the domestic market was still relatively small and whisky was seen as being of Scottish origin. They looked to Scotland and created a modest-sized distillery that brought together the best of whisky. The emphasis was on quality, using the flavoursome Golden Promise barley that is rarely used today, stills that enhanced the distillate and then predominately sherry maturation, thanks to casks sourced from Spain. A lull in whisky demand prompted the distillery to be closed in 2000, if Japanese whisky was booming as it has been in recent times, Karuizawa would still be in existence. Instead, the remaining casks were purchased by Ichiro Akuto and over the years we’ve seen these hugely collectable releases arrive at retail and vanish soon after.
