Review 134: Karuizawa 1967-2009

As promised, here is my review of the very special Karuizawa 1967-2009 bottling from cask 6426. This is a rather expensive whisky, so I have to give Steffen a lot of respect for actually drinking it, let alone sharing it with me. Cheers Steffen!

Karuizawa 1967-2009

Color: Amber +3

ABV: 58.4%

Aroma Neat:
Rich Oak, Supple Leather, Black Liquorice (notably), Motor Oil, Oily Coal, Wood Smoke, Dry Roast Barley, Sweet Pumpernickel Bread, Tarry Grape Preserves/Fruit Leather, Ground Black Pepper (slightly), Cola, Soy Sauce, Sun-Dried Raisins/Plums, Mild Coffee, Dark Chocolate.

Just staggering. An irrepressible smile crept across my face as I was nosing this. The sensation is very viscous and gentle, but contemplation reveals a huge conglomeration of aromas.

Aroma Water:
Dark Chocolate/Dutch Cocoa Powder, Dry Roast Barley/Grist, Black Liquorice, Dusty Old Vanilla, Kola Nuts, Potting Soil, Metallic/Mineral Tinge, French Roast Coffee Beans, Rich Syrupy Oak, Oily Rags/Gasoline, Jammy Concord Grapes, Dates, Muscovado Sugar, Bananas (slightly).

There is so much going on here, so I can't touch on everything. In short, it's complex, but arrives so calmly and so subtly that it doesn't seem so at first. My favorite note is an oily dirtiness that reminds of the rags my Father would use when working in the garage, usually on cars or other leaky things with motors.

Taste Neat:
Dark Chocolate Coffee (very mocha), Dried Dates, Brown Sugar, Roasted/Burnt Barley (chocolate malt)/Porter, Vanilla, Cola, Weathered and Toasted Oak, Oaky Ash, Light Char.

Unbelievably delicious. These notes don't do the whisky justice. I had a bottle of this, my review would make War and Peace seem like light reading. This is like drinking the best whisky, the best roasty-dark beer, the best cola, and the best mocha coffee all at once.

Taste Water:
Cola, Muscovado Sugar/Jamaican Rum (very old), Bitter Burnt Barley, Baking Chocolate, Dates, Raisins, Motor Oil, Old Toasted Oak.

Much the same as before, which is a very good thing.

Finish:
Oak, Soft Tannins, Vanilla, Cola, Coffee Porter, Black Tea, Chocolate Malt, Barrel Char, Light Ash.

This really shines on the finish, with bags and bags of flavors subtly intertwined and gently delivered. Long lasting.

Conclusion:
Not much else needs to be said. It's stellar whisky.

Rating: 95/100

I give this 95 out of 100 without a second thought. It may even deserve more, but it is tied for my highest rating ever. The profile of this whisky totally seduced me. It classically easy-going in the way you would expect very old whisky to be, but it's utterly complex at the same time. Despite being 42 years old, it's far from being over-oaked, but there is still lovely wood and sherry influence. Those notes balance with, amazing, the malt itself, which is still noticeable after all these years. A delicious oiliness runs throughout this whisky as well, even in the nose. This is really syrup. And to reiterate, this is very complex. Not only did I manage to generate a lot of notes from this sample, but many of the notes themselves are complex entities.

What can I say? Many whiskies don't live up to the hype surrounding them. A few do, luckily, and this is a fine example.

Josh