
October 19, 2021

Couple of Karuizawa for our cause

I was just joking, no need for a cause here. We may even do this quick and with no bells and no whistles, as Karuizawa's just like Port Ellen, we've been quietly quaffing its 'very last drops, cross my heart' since around the year 2005. Those very last drops that last and last and last and last…

Karuizawa 34 yo 'Ruby Geisha' (58.5%, OB for Elixir Distillers and The Whisky Exchange, sherry, cask #3668, 247 bottles, 2021)

In theory… Colour: full gold. Nose: sometimes storytellers would claim that the best casks are bottled first, and that the chaff is bottled last. No. Cedarwood, embrocations, new tyres, sour grapefruits, green plums, a drop of benzine, furniture polish, roasted chestnuts, liquorice… With water: hold on, this is very unusual! Sauna oils, washing powder, dairy cream, Woolite, new blanket… You'd almost believe you're wandering throughout the Islay Woollen Mill. Do you know the Islay Woollen Mill? Then lime blossom and some kind of mentholy marzipan. Unusual and fun (and, I would guess, expensive).Mouth (neat): thick and tight, candied, on many tart and acidic dried and candied fruits and herbs. Angelica, lemons, kumquats… A little linseed oil floating around, perhaps wee bits of preserved artichokes, olives… With water: do not add to much water, it's not the first time I'm noticing that Karuizawa does not always swim well. No water is the best water in this case. Gets flattish and cardboardy even after just three drops of H2O. Finish: rather long, with several oils coming out, pine, thyme, eucalyptus… Comments: stunning – as long as you do not add any water, or just a tenth of a drop, if you could do that. Rather tight for a sherried Karuizawa.
SGP:562 - 91 points.

The older sister…

Karuizawa 38 yo 'Ruby Geisha' (54.1%, OB for Elixir Distillers and The Whisky Exchange, sherry, cask #7582, 223 bottles, 2021)

Colour: darker. Bronze cognac. Nose: more typically sherried Karuizawa, shock-full of oils, plasticine, ointments, Vicks Vaporub, thuja wood, very old chartreuse, also engine oil… Well this is just fantastic, classic old Karuizawa with an obvious and lovely medicinal side. With water: with just two drops, right, fool me once… well it is sauna oil galore! Plus a little miso, umami sauce, other pretty savoury things, soy, perhaps even mothballs, plasticine, new sneakers… Well this one is stunning me, really. Mouth (neat): exceptional, if a tad woody-ish. Massive marmalades and herbal syrups, huge menthol, thujone, angelica, liquorices (I've added an s because that's really various kinds, including crazy salmiak)… Extremely assertive and even dominant, the taster hasn't got much of the say here anyway. With water: oh! Please call the Anti-Maltoporn Brigade, would you. Like quaffing the greatest green tea ever. Finish: almost eternal. Extraordinary mentholy and medicinal finish, with an oak that's well there after 38 years but that behaves like a real marquess. Stays quiet. Do I not detect kumquats and kaffir in the aftertaste? Comments: I tried hard to keep this short and sweet. It's a stunner.
SGP:472 - 94 points.

Check the index of all Japanese whisky we've tasted so far