Karuizawa 38 Year Old Ruby Geisha Cask #7582
Bottle performance
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Lot number: 149-01233
Winning bid: £21,000
The mountain town of Karuizawa is situated on a high plain at the base of active volcano, Mount Asama, in the heart of Japan’s mainland. In 1956, the wine and spirits giant, Daikoku Budoshu, expanded their already established empire there by building a distillery with the onus of producing a single malt to be utilised in the company’s blends. They christened it ‘Ocean’. 1958 saw a freer importation channel opening up for malt, and barley flowed into Japan from the UK. Karuizawa Factory, as it was then known, worked with Golden Promise barley (also famously used by Macallan), and matured their signature spirit in sherry casks. Independent bottler Number One Drinks acquired the distillery's remaining stocks, and imported Ocean Karuizawa Distillery whisky (as it was re-branded to in 1977) for the European market. The rarity of official expressions, and the now finite supply made for an explosive combination in the world of rare whisky, with die-hard collectors clamouring to get hold of any releases, and driving a buoyant second hand market. The rest, as they say, is history.
The older of the Karuizawa Geisha pair – the penultimate release in the Karuizawa Geisha series – this 38-year-old whisky was matured in a sherry butt and shows off the classic character of the lost Japanese distilleries famed whiskies: a careful balance of sweet and savoury notes, run through with dark oak and spice. Due to the limited number of bottles available, this expression was sold via ballot.
Karuizawa: Ruby Geisha
Bottled: 2021
Age: 38 Years Old
Cask Type: Sherry Cask
Cask Number: 7582
54.1% ABV / 70cl
Bottle Number: 67 / 223
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