Whisky : Karuizawa 12 Year Pure Malt Whisky

Country/Region : Japan

ABV : 40%

Age : 12 Year

Nose :  Wood, fruit, and salt.  Dusty old cedar wood led opened with melon rinds, bruised pineapple, and apricots.  Leather, oil, and salty maritime air lent it the impression of salt crusted discarded leather goods along the shore.

Palate :  Medium to light body with fruit, brown sugar, and nuts.  Opened with melon rind, dark brown sugar, leather, and malty whole wheat biscuits.  Molasses dominated the mid-palate along with sweet notes of roasted squash and dark brown sugar.  A pleasant nuttiness arrived at the end and left the impression of pecan pie.

Finish :  Lingering fruit, baking chocolate, and brown sugar.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Reduced Sugar Pecan Pie

Notes : This Karuizawa, a ghost distillery in Japan, was definitely a unicorn dram for me.  Now this may not have been one of the well-regarded and elusive single cask releases, it was the standard 12 Year Pure Malt, but it was absolutely an incredible treat to taste.  I would not say this was the most amazing bottle I have ever tried, but it was delicious, especially compared with the Suntory range of entry level 12 Year malts.  I have no idea the casking on this, but based on the notes that came through, especially leather and nuts, I have to imagine there was a good deal of old sherry involved.

Overall, an incredibly special dram to try out and not one I will ever have again.  It certainly punched above average for a 12 Year malt adjusted to 40% with a balanced sweetness and nice complexity.  I would say the dram has me excited to try more Karuizawa, but the reality is, this will probably be my only one.  I count myself lucky that a friend had stashed this in the back of his closet for years and decided it was a good time to share it with others.