Footnotes

• THE ART OF THE CRAFTSMAN
  
  The oldest Karuizawa whisky in the world. Designed and produced by Edinburgh studio, Contagious, each element of the package has been carefully crafted. The label has been handmade by Norito Hasegawa, a third generation paper maker, and then embellished by a Master Calligrapher, Soji Nishimoto 西本宗璽.
  
  Modelled on traditional Japanese puzzled boxes and handmade to the highest level by an accomplished British cabinetmarker, the box has been adorned with pieces from the original ex-sherry hogshead shipped from Karuizawa.
  
  Each of the 41 bottles has been named after the unique Netsuke(根付) that hangs from the neck of the bottle.
  
  TASTING NOTES
  
  Colour: Deep amber
  
  Nose: Subtle power. Rich, layered and perfume and a little reminiscent of ancient Brandy de Jerez. Plenty of roasted spices and tobacco with shift into sandalwood incense. In time, some crystallised ginger emerges along with a savourty edge which brings to mind sun-dried tomato. It becomes more velvety as it continues to open, fluxing between damask rose and, at its height, a fungal, mossy note like old woods in autumn.
  
  Palate: Very pure with the distillate still fresh and remarkably vibrant and the wood not overly dominant. The tannins, while there, simply give support to the dense black fruits, while the smoke begins to develop towards the back of the palate.
  
  Finish: The smoke continues as we once again enter that mysterious forest.
  
  41瓶之一，世上最早的輕井澤威士忌，由愛丁堡工作室設計及製作。具感染力，每一個包裝元素都經過精雕細琢。酒標由紙藝家第三代傳人Norito Hasegawa手工製作，並以書道家西本宗璽的書法點綴。
  
  酒盒仿照日本傳統秘密盒，由英國一位傑出的造櫃匠以最高的技藝水平手工製作，並以從輕井澤運來的前雪莉大桶的木片裝飾。全部41瓶酒的每一瓶均以掛在瓶頸的獨特根付命名。
  
  品酒筆記
  
  顏色：深琥珀色
  
  香氣：微妙的能量。豐富、有層次、香味濃，讓人想起古代的雪莉白蘭地。大量烤香料和煙草轉變成檀木香。隨著時間推移，一些糖薑味帶來刺激的美味，像日曬的番茄乾。它繼續開放，變得更柔軟，在大馬士革玫瑰以及一種絕頂的真菌、苔蘚氣息中廻蕩，像秋天的古樹林。
  
  口感：非常純凈的蒸餾液仍然新鮮，非常有活力，木味並不主導。單寧存在，但只是向稠密的黑果給予支持，而煙味開始朝着味覺的背面發展。
  
  收結：煙味不絕，我們如再次進入那神秘的森林。
  
  Text credited to Dave Broom