Nose: Sherry, orange, pie crust, wood stain, a little tar, struck match but not overpowering and a vinous note(red wine).
Palate: Light, sherry, caramelised orange jus, caramel, sweet spices, some nuttiness and a little struck match.
Finish: A bit dry on wood and sherry. Candies and caramel.
Last Word: Not particularly taxing but quite drinkable. This also comes in a Cask Strength version which has a similar profile that I tasted at Zoetrope Bar Tokyo in 2011.

Rating: 80/100

Nose: Struck match type sulphury notes. Sherry, marmalade on toast. Hint of glue.
Palate: Sherry, oak, a little nutty, struck match, smoke.
Finish: Sherry, smokey, struck match, pepper, dry.
Last Word: This is an odd malt that’s lacks complexity an cohesion. It’s not bad, in some ways it’s interesting, it’s just not special.
Rating: 79/100

Nose: Clean and fresh. Grassy notes, along with pear, orange, golden syrup, salt and varnish
Palate: The mouth feel is clean, with pepper, new leather, orange chocolate, toffee and a hint of smoke.
Finish: Medium length with marmalade, pepper; grassy at the start, then adds mint, toffee and fresh cut timber.
Last Word: This is a nice, refreshing Karuizawa and a welcome counterpoint to this distillery’s often full-on single cask style.
Rating: 84/100

Nose: Big, bold sherry. Marmalade, cherries and wood stain. Gets more woody with water.
Palate: Neat, it’s not for the faint hearted. It is blistering stuff that needs water to tame. With water, the mouth feel is reasonably smooth, with sherry, raisins, lovely orange dark chocolate, crumpets with maple syrup, Brazil nut and mint.
Finish: Most of the flavors from the nose and then fading to a hint of grassyness/timber.
Last Word: Not as good as the best sherry-matured whiskies I’ve had from Japan.
Rating: 84/100

Nose: Some florals, apricot, sherry, golden syrup, vanilla, oak and the ubiquitous varnish. It is balanced from the get go.
Palate: Sweet. You can drink this neat, though it still has loads of punch. In no particular order, it has: florals, oak, sherry, stone fruits, raisins, currants and smoke. Again, very well balanced. With water, the cherry blossoms shine through.
Finish: Long and luscious, with mint, creamy nuts and lovely, trailing smoke and tobacco flavours.
General comment:  A truly excellent Karuizawa that lives up to the hype.

Rating: 92/100

Nose: Oak, vanilla , sherry, raisins, red grape and a hint of white chocolate.
Palate: Without water, mainly Seville oranges and vanilla. Really needs water to tame it. Not particularly complex, the water brings out some nuttiness–at first creamy, then bitter. Also orange dark chocolate, sherry and more vanilla, but you have to work hard to pick up any of it.
Finish: Is fairly hot with or without water. The spirit actually numbs the palate which makes it difficult to pick up any subtleties. There’s a little cigar smoke.

Last Word: Overall, a simple and at times brutal malt that clubs the palate into a fairly useless state of submission. The nose is the highlight.
Rating: 78/100

Nose: Sweet pipe tobacco, pureed dark summer fruits, sherry, raisins, blood oranges,
Palate: The sweet pipe tobacco dominates at first, then tangy oranges and cigar smoke dryness. Water brings some oiliness to the mouth feel, also dried mushrooms, moss and lemon pepper.
Finish: Long. Cigar smoke, oranges, pepper, vanilla. Drying. It is certainly better balanced than the 13YO for OxfAM but, like that one, lacks the complexity and wow factor of the better Japanese Malts.
Rating: 80/100

Nose: Heavy notes of baked goods such as warm pie crust and scones; sherry; bar wood, like you’d expect to smells in “Cheers”. Vanilla, varnish, and sandalwood.
Palate: A massive spice attack. sandalwood, playdough, vanilla, bubblegum, strawberry, and something like roast chicken. Sounds a little strange but it works.
Finish: Sweet, nutty, fruity, spicy and very long!
Last Word: A fantastic Karuizawa.
Rating: 91/100

Nose: Bold and clean. Sherry at first, sweet then dry. Fresh biscuits cooling on the kitchen bench. Raisins, Valencia oranges, mixed peel, cherry chocolate and mint.
Palate: Perfectly drinkable neat. Well layered flavours that basically follow the nose and with some lovely sweet spices. From one hell of a sherry butt.
Finish: Beautifully rounded, warming and long. Spicy sherried goodness.
Last Word: Power with balance, a truly great Karuizawa.
Rating: 92/100 Tasted from a sample.

Nose: Big on vanilla. Also, licorice, grated carrot, dried pear, apple skins, sawdust, yeast and brine. Slightly perfumed.
Palate: Custard on apple pie. Black pepper, licorice, nutmeg, peanut shells, yeast with a hint of marmite. A whisp of smoke.
Finish: Long and warming with a slight bitterness. Some curry powder heat on the top palate.
Rating: 85/100

Nose: White plums, sweet glazed orange slices, burnt pie crust, a fair amount of oak, apricot conserve, butterscotch, hint of nutmeg. Again, you have to work hard to find all that.
Palate: Strawberry, burnt pie crust, grapefruit, rhubarb stalks. Once more, water makes this very unbalanced and on the bitter side.

Finish: Okay but not something you’d want to hold onto forever. Water slaughters anything remotely pleasurable
Rating: 75/100

Nose: Quite simple. Raisins, oranges, lemon, vanilla, hay, rubber, oregano, burnt pie crust. Fairly benign overall for 61.7% abv.
Palate: Taken neat, there is a little raisin, bubblegum, rhubarb, strawberry, but you’ve gotta work hard to find it. Actually too brutal at full strength to reveal any complexity. With water, there is a lot of bitter tannins. Way to much really. Extreme bitter dark chocolate, some bitter orange peel, grapefruit and a smidgen of vanilla (thank heavens).

Finish: Either too brutal without water to be complex or bitter to the max with the water added
Rating: 72/100

Nose: Rich sherry, banana, caramel, butter menthols, brown sugar, wood stain, oak, apricot. Some struck matches.
Palate: Huge hot spices, mixed peel, oak, cocoa, struck matches. Water adds coconut, nougat and ginger.
Finish: Mint chocolate, mixed peel, toffee, tangerine, ginger, struck match, apricot.
General Comment: Bottled on the 6th of september 2011, this may well be the last official bottling from the distillery.

Last Word: Amazing colour for an 11-year-old.
Rating: 86/100

Nose: Blood oranges, lemon, dates, oats, sherry, dry oak, grapefruit, mustard.
Palate: Brutal without water. Raisins, currants, freshly cut timber, oak, nutmeg, nougat, pepper, grapefruit, pikelets.
Finish: Medium on toffee, pikelets, nougat, grapefruit, raisins, coconut and oak.
Rating: 85/100

Nose: Oak, varnish, pine, grapefruit, butter, coconut.
Palate: Lots of coconut, toffee, almonds, dry oak, cinnamon, bran. Springbanky!
Water enhances the coconut and toffee and adds spearmint.
Finish: Medium with the flavours of the palate and a little grassy. Well balanced.

Last Word: I generally enjoy non sherried/lightly sherried Karuizawa.
Rating: 86/100

Nose: Pine, malt, mint, coconut, salt, light oak.
Palate: Malt, toffee, mint chocolate, fresh oak, oily and lots of nougat.
Finish: Short and adds nothing different to the palate. Balanced between sweetness and dry woodyness.

Last Word: Simple but tasty.
Ratings: 82/100

Nose: Pears, green apples, lemon, honeydew melon.
Palate: White Pepper, pears, honeydew melon, blueberries, honey.
Finish: Short with crisp fruity flavours and a little chocolate and peanut oil.

Last Word: An aperitif.
Rating: 69/100