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Karuizawa 1981-2007 - Single Cask 103
Karuizawa 1981 - 2007. Cask number 103. 700ml. 58.1%.
A single cask Karuizawa 1981 Japanese single malt whisky bottled by Number One Drinks back in 2007 at its exceptionally hefty natural cask strength of 58.1%. This peated, sherry cask Karuizawa was one of the best of the early bottlings from Number One, and picked up a Gold Medal and the Top Japanese Malt gong at the Malt Maniacs Awards in 2007. A gloriously chewy, leathery, smoky, nutty Karuizawa.
The Karuizawa distillery was originally a winery built by Daikoku Budoshu in the mountains of the ski resort town of the same name in Japan’s Nagano prefecture in 1935. In the 1950s direct-fired pot stills were added at Karuizawa and the distillery began making whisky in 1956, producing spirit for Daikoku’s Ocean blend.
Karuizawa tried to emulate the finest Scottish distilleries, using Golden Promise barley and high quality sherry casks. Sadly, with the domestic market in decline, Karuizawa ceased production in 2000 and was later demolished by owners Kirin, who bought Mercian in 2006. Soon afterwards, a series of extraordinary casks were bottled by Number One Drinks, and Karuizawa’s whiskies subsequently soared in value. In 2020 a new Karuizawa Distillers company fronted by Kavalan alumnus Ian Chang revealed that they would be building a distillery at Komoro near Karuizawa.
Distillery bottlings are, as the name suggests, bottled by or for the distillery from which the whisky has originated and are thus often referred to as Official Bottlings or OBs. Distillery bottlings are generally more desirable for collectors and usually fetch higher prices at auction than independent bottlings. They are officially-endorsed versions of the whisky from a particular distillery and are therefore considered the truest expression of the distillery’s character.
This ideal of the distillery character is regarded so seriously by the distilleries and brand owners that casks of whisky that are considered to vary too far from the archetype are frequently sold on to whisky brokers and independent bottlers. When this happens, it is often with the proviso that the distillery’s name is not allowed to be used when the cask is bottled for fear of diminishing or damaging the distillery’s character and status.