I think this one’s quite rare. Well, all Karuizawas are rare, aren’t they. Colour: coffee. Not fast-food coffee! Nose: this is completely different from the Yamazakis, and yet it’s massively sherried. It’s much drier in fact, more mineral in a way, with a lot of ‘guns that just shot’ – unless that’s one single huge machine gun - at first nosing, and once that’s gone away, splendid notes of cigar humidor, cocoa, soy sauce, balsam and dried porcinis. My kind. With water: the machine gun is back, as well as the cigars. Smoking a Cuban double-corona in front of a huge humidor. An open humidor, of course. Mouth (neat): we’re closer to the Yamazaki this time. Feels rather less ‘engineered’, with probably more very tiny flaws, but also a much bigger complexity. Maybe you just cannot have it both ways. There’s even a very tiny soapiness here, but even that is an asset, in a way. Great whisky, but it’s very strong, so… With water: oops! Water did not work too well, a lot of soap came out. That can happen, so let’s wait and check if that goes away (knowing that we already always wait for a few minutes before tasting a whisky after reduction, which should be obligatory in my opinion)… zzz… After fifteen minutes: not. Finish: long, a notch cologny and metallic when diluted. Almost impeccable when neat, very dry and peppery. Comments: I think it’s not the first time I find a glorious Karuizawa at super-high strength that doesn’t quite swim. Only one solution then, have it drop by drop, unreduced. I’m afraid it has to lose points because of that – dura Lex, sed Lex at Whiskyfun Towers

---

Show more

---

---

Show less

---