Karuizawa - 5 Decades - Distilia
Image provided by Distilia.com
Karuizawa, a name that always triggers something among whisky people. This ranges from awe, curiosity and delight to resignation. Resignation because once you have tasted a good representative and tasted a piece of whisky heaven and want more, you are usually blocked by the budget. Today's double release from our friends from Distilia is called 5 Decades and is a blend of casks from 50 years of Karuizawa. Turtle is a mix of bourbon and sherry casks, while the Crane represents 100% sherry casks. The names kinda remind us of Dragon Ball Z (how very japanese). Killer design with no doubt. But since one cannot eat wood, let's taste them.
Turtle: Distillation 1960-2000: 54,2%
Hello elegance! Green and fresh rhubarb notes start their dance on wet wooden planks, trampling and crushing a lot of hazelnuts, walnuts, roasted macadamia nuts and sultanas on their way! The ensemble is accompanied by a delicate whisper of mint and elegant ylang ylang and violet blossoms! But darker tones of mica chocolate and cappuccino also play in between and provide depth. An incredibly complex bouquet!
The palate is a sample example of balance, sweetness and creaminess. Is this alcohol?! Silky, oily and rich creme of all the aforementioned nuts. Plus iced coffee from the gas station. A juice super rich in flavour, providing an endless bitersweet finish of all kinds of nuts on this wee earth.
Crane: Distillation 1960-2000 - 59,5%.
Old school Oloroso from the first sniff! Freshly dug up roots, raisins, and tons of different nuts are clearly pointing towards an earthy profile. Crushed mint, parsley and some drops of cedar oil and fresh leather add to the complexity!
The earthiness continues on the palate and is accompagnied by the finest dark chocolate from Barbados, fried manioc roots and tamarind paste. Above all that a heavy dark forest honey sweetness makes you salivate and instantly makes you want to take a second sip, but you'll wait for the long chocolate finish to fade out. It's heavily sherried, but not a monster. Reminds of those legendary Macallans from the 60's.
Rating
Hard to find mistakes in here. Both are somewhat masterpieces and wonderfully balanced. The turtle in fact is truly mindblowing with its finesse and elegance, like a Grand Cru Burgundy wine. Are they expensive? Yes. But if you look on what, for instance, a single bottle of a youngish Romanée-Conti Monopole from 2017 is costing these days (>25K) it might perhaps be a better deal to pack a few bucks on top and get the two Karuizawa instead, right? Hardcore whataboutism here, we know, but you get the point. No points, as we are working on a separate project with Distilia and don't wanna be called "biased". But brillant whiskies for real.
