Tastes

Nose: Clean and rounded malt, fresh-cut grass, banana split, caramel, fresh white bread, a little mint in the background and a very faint roasted coffee bean aroma. It’s a sweet, full nose. Palate: Juicy arrival with tropical fruit, cherries, candied pineapple, ginger in syrup and guava. In the development (which is limited as with all new make spirit) a chocolate flavour emerges together with cereal notes – muesli, wheat flakes and oatmeal. The texture is oily and creamy. Finish: Short. Cereal and fruit melange. A delicious new-make barley spirit, one of the best I’ve tasted and quite honestly I prefer this to the single malt whisky that Archie Rose released in 2021, which was essentially this with two years of intense aging in small casks. That whisky seemed monumentally overdone to me and I wished at the time they had made something with more nuance and restraint. Having now tasted this new make I wish even more that they had been brave enough to release it as a core-range product in its own right. However, the production run for this was very small and it was only available from the distillery door. Unfortunately I missed out on obtaining a bottle and it is now as rare as hen’s teeth, so I was delighted to score a taste at a local liquor shop today. Ignore any comments you may read that imply this new make is just an “unfinished” proto-whisky and useful only in mixed drinks as a substitute for white rum or vodka. It is, in fact, a very enjoyable spirit and if anything it could go toe-to-toe against any good genever and hold its own. “Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)

Nose: Malt, ale, espresso-roast coffee, roasted nuts. A distant breeze of rye spices – caraway, mint. Palate: Mildly spicy/sweet arrival, grains, malt, dark ale, rye spice. The development shows earthier cereal notes and malt extract together with a little chocolate and there is some nougat and fruit in the late development. The palate has a pleasant fresh and crisp quality, but it could be criticised for being just a little thin. Finish: Medium. Sweet, malty and fruity. There is a flavour of ale that lingers into the aftertaste. This was an Australian exclusive release, and the second such exclusive that Westward has released here. It is rich in profile and like the first (which I’ve reviewed previously) highly suggestive of a strong, dark craft ale. This impression starts slowly but builds through the tasting until by the time you have finished the dram you feel like you’ve just had a half-pint of red ale. The proof is excellent for the spirit and carries the flavour very well whilst remaining mostly hidden. There is a warming heat but it’s not a “hot” spirit as such and I finished my dram without even thinking to add any water. Rye spices are definitely detected throughout, but they are very well integrated and the rye content of the spirit at no time seems overt. Tasted from a 20ml sample. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Nose: Malt, vanilla, oak, olive oil, cheese, beer, fruit, carob bean and nutmeg. Palate: Sweet, crisp fruity grains in the arrival. The development brings spice notes, a little heat, wholemeal bread and cocoa. The texture is slightly oily. Finish: Medium. Spicy. The nose is reminiscent of a Scottish malt whisky but there are some unusual aromas that I’ve not found in any other malt. It’s interesting, pleasant and easy to drink and there are aspects all the way through that make me think of beer (particularly IPA, although it does not smell exactly like that) and of fermenting wash. It’s not unpleasant, fresh even, but it is unusual. There is a fruity, feinty quality to this whisky that some might not like but I enjoyed. Although I didn’t actually smell or taste bread at any stage, there was something about it that did make me think of wild yeasts or kombucha starter. An interesting experiment and a good whisky, but sadly at the local price of AUD$175 I won’t be buying a bottle. Tasted from a 20ml sampler. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75)

Nose: Light, fragrant wood is the first impression. Not oak cask, but freshly sawn planks. Vanilla, honey, mint, cloves and faint anise. Palate: The arrival is sweet at first but rapidly becomes drying and spicy before heading into bitterness. Brown sugar, oak tannin, dark unsweetened chocolate. The texture is a bit thin. Finish: Medium. Spicy wood notes with tobacco in the aftertaste. I enjoyed the nose on this a lot more than the palate, which is too astringent for my taste when taken neat. Water didn’t improve it either, reducing the heat a little but bringing out a lot of sour notes. Fortunately it works very well as a mixer as its hard personality allows it to stay prominent in a drink, and it is a great partner with Coke where the respective dry astringency and cloying sweetness balance each other out. I picked this bottle up for AUD$58 (it’s normally $70 here) but I wouldn’t buy it again, even on special. “Adequate” : 74/100 (2.25 stars)

Re-posted review from January 2020. I’m not sure what happened to the original one, I must have deleted it somehow but fortunately I had it backed up. Nose: Hot cinnamon, vanilla, roasted peanut, burnt sugar and barrel char. Palate: Hot, hard entry but with some sweet notes. Caramel-coated overcooked popcorn, peanut butter, toffee. Pepper, bitter dark chocolate and chewy oak tannin in the development. Finish: Medium. The oak and hot dry spice notes linger. In Australia there used to be a Jim Beam bottling called “Jim Beam Bonded Number 12 Formula” which was completely different to this. It was soft, buttery and a very pleasant everyday bourbon but sadly it disappeared from our shelves a couple of years ago. Fortunately I had stocked up on it but I'm down to my last one. When I saw this Bonded Bourbon appear recently I thought I’d give it a try in case it was just the same stuff repackaged, but sadly it's a different whisky, and one that is not to my taste. Adding water tames it a fraction but the only way I could enjoy this was with Coke. It wasn't just a bad bottle either because I bought two and they were the same. I guess it could be a bad batch, but I won't be trying it again to find out. “Adequate” : 70/100 (2 stars)

Nose: Freshly-cut grass clippings, sweet hay, petrichor on hard-baked red-soil roads. Parchment. Crisp and light with a little spice and fruit – mango, tangerine and strawberry. An unexpectedly light and sprightly rye nose that is very agreeable. With time a little vanilla note is detected. Palate: Again, very grassy and slightly herbal in the arrival. Light lemon zest and some aniseed. There is, however, little development apart from a slow increase in spice notes and an almost effervescent citrus presence. The texture is OK but nothing special. Finish: Medium. Mild spice and lemon trailing into the sunset. A slightly unusual rye whisky with a strong focus on citrus. The nose is the standout attraction and it is refreshingly unusual. The palate, however, does not quite rise to the same standard, being abbreviated and shallow with no progress. I’d attribute this entirely to youth and it would be interesting to taste this if it were given a few more years of maturation in larger casks. Adding water destroys the nose, subtracting all the distinctive aromas and rendering it more like an average rye, although some of the grassy notes remain. On the palate, water unleashes black pepper, hot capsicum and salt (and a little balancing sweetness). It does tone down the bright lemon focus but on the whole I preferred this one neat. An interesting whiskey but like the Reservoir Wheat I just rated this is overpriced here. It’s almost worth the money, but then I think of all the very good scotch whiskies I could buy instead. Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

Nose: Soft baking spices (not unlike rye spice), dusty cereal, orange peel, toffee apple, dark fruit. There is a slight ethanol nip and a strong woody presence – young, freshly sawn wood … not old casks. Palate: Spicy/sweet arrival with just a little heat. Buttered popcorn and granola with caramel sauce in the development, which turns to the bitter side as it progresses with coffee grounds and toasted sourdough bread. Mint and menthol towards the finish. There is an omnipresent tannic note throughout the palate. The mouthfeel is OK. Finish: Medium/short. Spice and cereal turning sour and flinty in the conclusion. It's a perfectly drinkable whiskey but it lacks any sort of spark. There are no outstanding faults (apart from obvious youth, if that is a fault) but neither is there anything that captures your attention. It's average, but in a good way. Water expands the spice notes on the palate almost to the level of a very spicy rye whiskey, but again it's neither attractive nor offputting ... it's just there. Tasted from a 30ml sampler, I was glad to have the chance to try this first as a 750ml bottle costs an outrageous AUD$160 over here, and if I had spent that much on this one I'd have serious buyer's remorse. "Average" : 79/100 (2.75 stars)

Amber Lane tasting at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 8 June 2022. Whisky #4 Nose: Sherry, chocolate covered raisins, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, orange concentrate. This is a big, commanding nose. Palate: Raisins, chocolate and honey. The development brings stone fruits, pears stewed in sherry, crème caramel, baking spices and a little hot ginger. The later palate has meaty leather and tobacco notes. With water the palate is subdued but not damaged. Finish: Medium. The core sherried chocolate-raisin character persists, with a touch of spice lingering into the aftertaste. Amber Lane is a young distillery located in the Yarramalong Valley of New South Wales, mid way between Sydney and Newcastle. The distillery was founded by Rod Berry and Phil Townsend in 2017 and has had its first festival and event tastings this year. No. 1 Sherry Lane was a single cask release (cask no. 023), from an ex-McWilliams apera cask of 300 litre capacity (about 80 US gallons, so technically it would have been a puncheon). The cask produced 369 bottles at 61.6% abv and the whisky is uncoloured and non-chillfiltered. This limited expression is only available from the distillery door, by online order from their website, or at event tastings. It’s a very good, hefty whisky with an individual style. The distillery character is evident throughout and the soft, fruity nature of the Scottish-inspired distillate is complimented very well by rich sherry maturation. There is a ginger note on the palate that appears in all their whisky. I bought a bottle on the night and at $229 ($190 at the event) it is not a cheap whisky, but in comparison to independent cask-strength bottlings and special CS releases (like the annual one from Diageo) it is comparable in quality, fairly priced and competitive. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Amber Lane tasting at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 8 June 2022. Whisky #3 Nose: Sherry, plums, over-ripe figs, vanilla, honey, cognac, red berry coulis. A rich and heavy nose. A dash of water lightens it a little, but does not change the balance. Palate: A big arrival with glazed fig tart drenched in brandy butter. The development sees further big flavours arrive (black cherry jam, chocolate sauce, preserved stem ginger in syrup). The ginger note gains heat and spice with time and the texture is mouth-coating. A good dash of water tones down the intensity of palate. Finish: Medium. Spicy, chocolate covered preserved fruits. Amber Lane is a young distillery located in the Yarramalong Valley of New South Wales, mid way between Sydney and Newcastle. The distillery was founded by Rod Berry and Phil Townsend in 2017 and has had its first festival and event tastings this year. Destiny is the distillery’s first “official” release (Amberosia and Liquid Amber being preliminary expressions). It is a full-bodied whisky that is similar in construction to Liquid Amber, being composed from a combination of ex-Heaven Hill bourbon casks, Australian ex-apera (ie local sherry) casks and ex-Spanish PX solera casks from Fernando de Castilla. However the PX and apera components make up a greater proportion (38%) of this expression and the alcohol content is slightly higher at 50.6% abv. This combination does give it an intense profile that borders on being too spicy hot, but the saving grace is that this whisky not only takes water well, it actively loves dilution. Adding a teaspoon to the dram made it bloom immediately with released aromas you could detect from arm’s length. Like all Amber Lane whiskies it was matured for 4 years, which is twice as long as most Australian whisky. I enjoyed this whisky and it was the favourite of the night for many people at the tasting. It and Liquid Amber are equivalent stablemates in my opinion, each showing a different but equal facet of the Amber Lane house style. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

Amber Lane tasting at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 8 June 2022. Whisky #2 Nose: Earthy sherry, plum jam, fig preserve, vanilla essence, caramel sauce. The aromas are rich but there is not a lot of development. Adding water has little impact. Palate: The arrival is full-bodied and sweet but mild, with milk chocolate coated honeycomb the initial flavor. It’s a very easy and welcoming entry that develops into a sweet, rich palate. Toffee, maple syrup, golden syrup, orange zest and stone fruits are apparent and balanced by a little spice. The texture is silky and little changed by the addition of water. Finish: Medium. Sweet and fruity with a touch of cinnamon spices, both sweet and hot. Amber Lane is a young distillery located in the Yarramalong Valley of New South Wales, mid way between Sydney and Newcastle. The distillery was founded by Rod Berry and Phil Townsend in 2017 and has had its first festival and event tastings this year. Liquid Amber is a full-bodied whisky that more closely resembles a gentle, PX-finished Scottish single malt than a typical intense Australian sherry-bomb. The casking was a combination of ex-Heaven Hill bourbon casks, Australian ex-apera (ie local sherry) casks, and ex-Spanish PX solera casks (hogsheads? puncheons?) from Fernando de Castilla. It was matured for 4 years, which is twice as long as most Australian whisky. Like the first whisky we tasted on the evening (Amberosia) I noted a brevity of progression due to youth in both nose and palate but in the case of Liquid Amber this is offset a little by the more complex casking. I enjoyed this whisky enough to buy a bottle on the night. It is natural colour, un-chillfiltered, 48% abv and unusually it is sold in a 700ml size rather than the lamentable 500ml bottles we mostly see. The usual price is $169 but at the event price of $145 I thought it was reasonable value for money. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)