Karuizawa 1967 Vintage Single Cask 6426 La Maison Du Whisky 58.4% 1967

Professional reviews

BOW (95)

This is an old vintage bottle and the closure may have deteriorated; When opening care should be taken. The item is sold as described.

Little dent on box flap

Serge Valentin (95)

A cask that’s been shared between these two famous high-end whisky retailers that are Paris’ LMdW and London’s TWE.

Colour: dark amber.

Nose: this oldie is much more ‘tertiary’ than the 1972 when neat, much more on old leather, precious wood, dry sherry, pipe tobacco, Cuban cigars (in truth, a whole humidor), cedar wood, cough syrup, plum jam, very old Armagnac, a little tar, even whiffs of engine oil… What an amazing complexity! With water: it’s got everything an old sherried wonder can have. Spectacular whiffs of aniseed and dill, a little more beefy notes, absolutely no sulphur whatsoever. Enough said.

Mouth (neat): unexpectedly nervous, with a big but beautiful oakiness (typical notes of pine resin than one can find in very, very old whiskies), a lot of walnut liqueur, bitter chocolate, cherry stem tea, chewing tobacco, heavy liquorice, prunes, green tea from the oak, blackcurrant leaves tea… With water: I’m speechless. One of these very old pu-erh teas (yes, I know pu-erh is Chinese, not Japanese).

Finish: very long, superbly dry (coffee) and spicy (cloves) as well as beautifully raisiny. Some menthol.

Comments: once again, this baby reminds me of some old Springbanks. Say of the best sherried ‘Local Barleys’, if that rings a bell to you. A Japanese masterpiece but the 1972 was close!

OTHER (94)

Whiskyfun 20th Anniversary tasting:
A shared bottling between TWE and LMDW, commonly lauded as one of, if not the greatest Karuizawa ever bottled… Colour: deep amber. Nose: what really strikes me is that this is like nosing the most stunning, long aged Armagnac you can imagine. Layers and layers of dried herbs, incense, roots and medicinal ointments. A profile which speaks of hotter climate maturation but it the most sublime way. With some time there's also coconut, mead, plum wine and even some very distant trails of the most elegant peat smoke. One of these whiskies that keeps going and going, endless resins, wood spices, crystallised fruits and delicate medicinal aspects.




Now leaf mulch, damp cellar earths and wild mushrooms. With water: sweeter and more mentholated, fruit liqueurs and syrups which give this feeling of elevated concentration and texture. Mouth: as with so many of these legendary whiskies, the word cohesion is what I often come back to. This feels like a cohesive whole, there's endless tiny flavours popping out, but it feels like a beautiful and singular spirit when you taste it. With water: becomes more powerful now, water seems to draw out more overt and punchy flavours of black pepper, pu erh tea, wormwood and camphor. Many complex medicinal and herbal flavours with mint, eucalyptus and tea tree oil. Finish: another one that's wonderfully long, resinous, herbal and back on exotic wood spices, incense, paprika and cedar wood. Quite exquisite! Comments: what I love most are these flavours of incense and medicines and the way it makes you think of very old Armagnacs, which in turn makes you think of some tropically aged rums. Another great whisky that reminds me of all the shared DNA in the great spirits of the world.