Tastes

Nose: Initially malt and a touch of mixed fruit, with a little rest in the glass the more familiar Talisker brine and tarry ropes show up. A distant beach barbecue and the just discernible fragrances of orange and vanilla blossoms growing by the seaside. The peat smoke is light but not deficient. Palate: Quite a salty arrival that progresses into an even saltier mid-palate like a surge (ha, ha) of briny waves, flotsam and sea-wrack. The signature Talisker chilli note is there in the late palate together with white pepper, but the top-notes here are malt, cereal and mocha. The texture is nicely oily but the peat smoke is light and ashen. Finish: Medium/Long. Sweet and salted (like salted dried fruit) with a dash of pepper and ash in the aftertaste. With repeated sips the briny presence builds and it is this that provides the length. This is the first Talisker I’ve tasted since the dreadful new packaging was adopted, and while I did not expect any change to the existing expressions I was surprised by the amount of brine in this new offering. The saline character threatens to become a wall of salt, but pulls back just in time, however this malt becomes agreeable more because your palate gets used to it rather than anything else. This was tasted from a sample provided by @DrRHCMadden. I received it months ago but I’ve been so busy catching up on half a year of distillery visit reviews that I’ve only just now opened my stash of samples. I also acquired a bottle of this from Duty Free in May but having now tasted the sample I think I’ll open the bottle sooner rather than later. This is a good malt, quirky but approachable once you get used to it. In some ways it’s like a saltier version of Old Pulteney 12 from a decade ago, so it should be a good session whisky. One thing, I didn't think it took water very well. A dash does not bruise the whisky and it does mute the salt a little, but it also introduces a sour lemon note to the palate which is not quite right. Altogether I thought it was best without reduction. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

Nose: Mild smoke, fragrant soil, pine needles (faint) and light oak. Palate: Semi-sweet arrival with caramel and vanilla playing over light smoky malt. Fruity notes (apples, pears, white grapes) emerge in the development and there is a slight maritime quality. The texture is neutral and the whisky does not display great legs. Finish: Short. Fruity ale fading to smoke with a pinch of brine. I only had a small taste of this at a pop-up store in Hobart during the August whisky festival. It was served in a tiny plastic shot glass which is the kiss of death for any serious tasting (when will the people presenting these events learn?). McHenry distillery has been operating since 2013 and it rejoices in being the southernmost distillery in Australia. This is not just a trivial claim to fame as it is located in a micro-climate area that is similar to the north-west of Scotland and this allows them to play with larger casks and longer maturation times than most Australian distilleries. This NAS whisky was made using imported peated Scottish malt and while it is a pleasant dram there is nothing above-average about it. Like their 10 year old single malt that I tried at the same event I hope to revisit this sometime in the future and taste it in more favourable conditions. “Average” : 79/100 (2.75 stars)

Nose: Resinous wood (pine), light aromatic wood (cigar box), vanilla icing, caramel flan. Palate: Mild arrival of vanilla cake, thinned honey and date slice. There is not a lot of development but the date slice morphs into apple pie as it rests on the palate. The texture is unusually delicate and verges on insubstantial. This whisky displays no legs at all. Finish: Short. Lightweight oak and oatmeal biscuits with a slice of apple. I only had a small taste of this at a pop-up store in Hobart during the August whisky festival. It was served in a tiny plastic shot glass which is the kiss of death for any serious tasting (when will the people presenting these events learn?). McHenry has produced half a dozen 5 and 6 year old “work-in-progress” and experimental malts whilst finding their house style and this 10 year old is the culmination. I believe it is intended to be the core-range flagship going forward. Sadly, it’s hard to recommend given the price, which is a shame as I really enjoy the other products that I have tried from the distillery, particularly their Federation Gin. I hope to come back to this whisky in the future for more serious evaluation as I believe it may fare better when tasted properly in a better context, but at the moment the best I can say is that it is on the positive side of average. “Average” : 79/100 (2.75 stars)

Nose: Huge and enveloping aromas of butterscotch, honey, toffee and malted milk are the initial impression, and with time I noticed emerging tropical fruits (mango, papaya) and sweet orange. Reduction brought the tropical notes further to the front. Palate: Stunning arrival with rich fruit cake (dried apple, cherries, plums, raisins) that gave way to softer, lighter fruits in the development. Just like the nose, these flavours focused on orange and mango but with fresh apricot and peach as well. The later palate showed a return of the fruitcake character together with a little dark toffee and demerara sugar which persisted into the long finish. The texture was silky, creamy and lightly syrupy, all at once. Reduction softened the palate and increased the creamy quality. Finish: Very Long. There was no discernible end to the palate – it just slowly faded into the distance over an extraordinary length of time. I could still clearly taste this half an hour after finishing the dram. Although matured in a range of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and ex-rum casks this is not a cask-dominated whisky, the barrels instead contributing a juicy fresh fruit character balanced by a slight toffee note from the rum. It’s a vatting of whiskies from 5 -7 years old and I’d guess that the majority was ex-bourbon with the PX and rum casks used to add “spice” to the blend. I always enjoyed the old Lark expressions but I was not particularly impressed by some of the range that was brought to market by the new owners. However after I tasted the Classic Cask Strength (previous review here) and then this Rum & PX expression after our visit to the distillery at Pontville I had to reconsider. This is the best Lark whisky I have tasted. It is reminiscent of big sherried Speyside whiskies (think Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Benrinnes) but with a softness more akin to Strathisla and a fresh fruitiness that is all its own. It is, quite simply, a huge rum and raisin soaked sweet Australian single malt, and I loved it. If it was not so ruinously expensive I would have bought a bottle (I did come close and still might acquire one). Recommended. “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars)

Nose: Dried apricots and figs, orange oil, vanilla, butterscotch, cinnamon. Palate: The arrival is big and assertive but not brash. It bursts with malt, preserved fruits and soft oak tannin. As it developed I got chocolate, butterscotch, vanilla, honey sweetness and some warming spice. Although the maturation is partly in ex-port barrels I did not detect a winey note, instead the casks appear to give extra sweetness and density to the palate. The texture is creamy and rich. Palate: Medium/Long. Sweet malt and preserved fruits soaked in honey. Like the Classic Cask there is a little smoke in the finish. The nose and palate of this whisky are very similar to those of Lark Classic Cask but everything is dialed up by several notches in this expression. The increased strength takes this whisky to a different level but not just because it is more intense, there is also an increase in depth and variety of aroma and flavor. That said, it is still a relatively straightforward whisky that does not display the sort of complexity you find in comparatively priced Scottish single malts. That is not to say it is inferior, but it is a different style of whisky. When Lark was still owned by Bill Lark they produced a cask-strength whisky that was simply called Lark Cask Strength. It was also 58% abv and this new version (created at the Pontville distillery by the new owners) is clearly similar and based on the earlier product … but it’s not quite the same thing. The old cask strength had a little more nuance and, in my opinion, a smokier palate. It is aged for 5-8 years in small 100 litre (26 gallon) casks which pushes the oak interaction, particularly from the ex-port casks. In character this single malt, like the lower proof Classic Cask, reminds me of soft Speyside single malts. This is a very enjoyable single malt and the only issues I have are the cost and those annoying 500ml bottles. 700ml of this would be worth AUD$360 and for that I can buy many Scottish single malts that I would prefer to drink. “Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)

Lark Pontville Distillery, 10 August 2024, whisky #1 Nose: Fruity (orange, apricot, peach, plum, fresh figs), honey, butterscotch, caramel, vanilla. Palate: Preserved fruits, but with a light touch – more like glace fruits than fruitcake. Honeyish malt, vanilla and butterscotch (like the nose). It’s a rich, sweet palate from start to finish and very easy to drink. There are some soft cereal notes like porridge with maple syrup. The texture is well rounded but more syrupy than creamy or oily. Finish: Medium/Short. Sweet. Preserved figs in caramel. There is a hint of barrel char and tannin. This whisky has been the core entry level expression of Lark’s output since Bill Lark sold the business to Australian Whisky Holdings Limited and production was moved to the Pontville Distillery (formerly Shene Estate) near Richmond in Tasmania. It’s a young, cask-driven whisky that is designed to be as approachable as possible. It retains a lot of the character of the old Lark whiskies, but there has been a drift towards sweetness and more intense wood character over time. It is highly reminiscent of Speyburn 10 and Glen Grant 10, which is good because they are both very capable single malts. However, whereas they currently cost AUD$75-80 for a 700 ml bottle, Lark Classic Cask is a whopping AUD$200 for a 500ml bottle. That’s over 3.5 times as much. Although I can see the point of 500ml bottles for micro-distilleries that have tiny output and very tight margins there is no reason for any established distillery with reasonable output to be using them, and Lark's prices are inflated anyway. None of that affects my rating, which is solely based on quality, but I will not be buying any Lark in the forseeable future. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)