Tasting Notes

Producing WhiskyCast has given me the opportunity to taste some really amazing whiskies, and I’m pleased to share my tasting notes with you here. You can search my entire database of tasting notes from this page, and I hope you’ll find it useful.

Karuizawa 1981 Sherry Cask

Country: Japan

Region:

Type: Single Malt

Bottler: Speciality Drinks, Ltd.

ABV: 63.4%

Score: 97 Points

Karuizawa 1981 Sherry Cask. Image courtesy Speciality Drinks, Ltd. This 33-year-old Karuizawa single cask bottling is scheduled to be released around January 1, 2015 by Speciality Drinks Ltd. and The Whisky Exchange in London. It was one of the “Dream Drams” poured at The Whisky Exchange’s 2014 Whisky Show.

The nose is intensely fruity with notes of figs, plums, raisins, Christmas cake, orange peel, ginger, cooked banana, and woody notes of pine and cedar. The taste is dry and spicy with cinnamon and clove notes that keep building through the finish, but don’t overwhelm cooked banana, plums, blackberry cobbler, and vanilla in the background. The finish is amazingly long with a great balance of both spices and fruity notes that fade away smoothly. Wow! (October, 2014)