Distillery: Karuizawa - Whisky type: pure malt - Bottled: 2003
Nose: Distinctly 12-yo OB Karuizawa. I find
when many of the OB ’s are initially opened
there is a massive citrus aroma that engulfs your nose, which is the case here.
Orange and lemon sherbet, fresh Sunkist orange zest, orange gelatin crystals,
and a slight freshly squeezed Yuuzu aroma poke through. This lovely citrus however,
in my opinion fades with time and becomes less aromatic as the bottle decreases.
Of the bat lovely stewed apricots and trifle like qualities (dry sherry, custard,
jam rolls). In given time sweetness develops: toffee and maple syrup. Lurking
are chocolate roasted coffee beans, pine, and wood varnish. This is arguably a
very complex Mercian release.
Taste: Thin and light, a tad watery but once past
this everything positive arrives: sherry wood spice and raw button mushrooms. Beer
nut skins, caramel topping, and tinned apricots mingle with a slight sulphur note.
In given time a distinguishable molded rubber reveals itself, or is it a faint firework
smoke?
Finish: Dry, pulls up a bit short but pleasant. Sherry
wood spice and burnt toffee, with a tinny like taste (liking the inside of an
empty apricot tin).
Comment: Although some of the notes may not sound
that spectacular I actually find this bottling very pleasant. The citrus is amazingly
dominant on the nose when first cracked, I presume this will all change as is
did with the official OB 12-yo I reviewed a while back (which fell apart half
way through). There is certainly a difference between the two bottles. Glad to
have a couple of these in my stash which I stumbled across a short while back.
Reviewed by Clint A
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