Karuizawa 1977-2009, Cask no. 6994,  62.7% abv.

Nose: extremely woody, obvious sherry notes, major raisins, earthy, dried fruits, some light chocolate, more red fruit, background of toast.

Palate: full bodied, dry, extremely well balanced, initial palate was smooth and lightly sweetened with white sugar, mid palate has more white sugar, all kinds of dried fruits, sweet raisins, background of vines, grapevines, tree roots, the leftovers from wine making, spicey, a little numbing, and the back palate is an amplified version of everything before.

Finish: long, dry sherry, dried fruits, slight wood, some wet old steamed lotus leaves peeking in from time to time, dried fruits get more intense with time.

An amazing whisky!!! Well balanced, full bodied, semi-intense, an excellent example of what a sherry influenced whisky should be. Not an out of control and unbalanced sherry bomb attack, not a light grape juice variety, and definitely not an old, dried, sherry residue that tastes more like wood fiber variants and earth than fortified, sweet, dark fruits. Interestingly, it gets more intense in terms of spiciness and dryness with each sip, which tends to emphasize the dehyadrated sherry unerlaying it. Excellence.

Grade: A

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Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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