Karuizawa 1996 Sherry Cask #3681 Bottled 2013 - Ghost Series 1st Edition 70cl / 59.5%

A bottle of Karuizawa 1996 Japanese Single Cask Malt Whisky, matured in a single sherry cask and bottled in 2013. This is the first in the Ghost series of Japanese whiskies selected by Nonjatta.

The label features the print from Yoshitoshi's 'New Forms of 36 Ghosts'.

This is bottle number 71 of 140; it was bottled from cask number 3681.

Karuizawa was founded in 1956 by Japanese wine and spirits producer Daikoku Budoshu to supply malt whisky for the company's Ocean blends. Despite a rocky start due to import restrictions, the distillery began importing Golden Promise barley from the UK and producing a Scottish-style spirit which was matured in Spanish sherry casks, though it was still destined for the company's blending vats. By the late 1980s and 1990s, Karuizawa started to earn a reputation as a single malt, but this wasn't enough to stop the distillery closing in 2001 when its owner, by then called Mercian, was acquired by drinks giant Kirin. In 2007, UK bottler Number One Drinks started to release single casks of Karuizawa and these grabbed the attention of whisky fans worldwide. More independent bottlings were to follow, and with stocks depleting, each new release has become a major event in the whisky calendar.

This Karuizawa 1996 Sherry Cask #3681 sold at our online auction for £6,200