Tastes

Killara Distillery post-tour tasting, 10 August 2024, whisky #3 Nose: Quite dense with lots of dark malt, fig jam, date syrup, dried apple and treacle. It’s a big nose and although what is there is good it lacks depth. Adding water balanced the aromas but did not bring out anything new. Palate: Big arrival full of dark caramel, chocolate and dried fruits (apple, apricot, pear, date, fig, cherry). It’s like a dish of dried mixed fruits that has been reconstituted with Belgian Trappist ale and sweetened with honey. The texture is dense and creamy but it also has a spritzy quality. As with the nose, adding water does not reveal any new flavours but it does meld and balance what is there. Finish: Medium. Ale-malt, chocolate, honey, fruit and spicy notes in the aftertaste. This whisky was initially matured in an unspecified barrel for 2 years before being re-racked into an ex-sparkling wine cask from Clover Hill winery in Tasmania. It rested in this cask for 4 weeks and was then returned to the original barrel while the sparkling wine cask was sent to Iron House Brewery and filled with black milk stout (think something like Guinness) for 8 weeks. The “finished” stout was then bottled and the wet cask went back to Killara to once again be filled with the whisky. After 8 weeks the whisky was bottled at 55% abv, producing 135 bottles. It’s an interesting dram, and a fascinating experiment, but the complex racking made it something of a curiosity rather than a compelling drink. There is an oddly listless and inert quality to this whisky because it has huge presence but the wall of aromas and flavours that you get in the first few seconds is all it has to give. There is no progression and surprisingly moderate length. Water does not do much but I did prefer it with a small dash as it had a noticeable alcoholic “nip” when neat and water removed this. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

Killara Distillery post-tour tasting, 10 August 2024, whisky #2 Nose: Mixed breakfast cereal (milled oats, barley and wheat), light ale-like malt, vanilla, dried dates, dried figs, prunes, raisins. There was a hint of treacle or molasses (some sort of ashen dark sugar) and this intensified with reduction (but don’t add too much water). Palate: The arrival started with brandy flavours and sweet raisins that were unexpected as they had not been apparent on the nose. These gave way to rum, dark chocolate, and dried fruits as it developed and the mouth-feel became a little more drying in the process. It then progressed again into softer, sweeter flavours of malt and baked vanilla custard. The texture was rich and full, slightly oily and creamy. Water expanded the creamy notes and brought out more evidence of rum cask influence. Finish: Medium. Cereal, semi-sweet, with bread pudding and mixed fruit. The rum cask and dry mouthfeel emerged again in the aftertaste. This whisky has no age statement and so is technically a NAS, however it’s widely known that it was crafted from 50 litres of whisky drawn in 2024 from one of the distillery’s oldest casks, a 200 litre ex-cognac cask that was filled in 2018, so it was 5 or 6 year old whisky at that time. It was then finished for a month in a small first-fill Australian ex-rum cask. Just 98 bottles were produced at a strength of 45% abv without any added colour or chill-filtration. There was something about this whisky that really captured me. It’s by no means the best Australian whisky I’ve ever tasted, but it has a compelling profile that drew me back for repeated nosing and tasting. The combination of ex-cognac and ex-rum cask is particularly successful here – it just “clicks” for some reason. However it is relatively low strength at 45% so if adding water be restrained as it is easy to drown. When I discovered that the distillery had a single bottle left in stock (no. 69 of 98) I grabbed it. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Killara Distillery post-tour tasting, 10 August 2024, whisky #1 Nose: Cereal, white grape juice, gooseberries, apples. A suggestion of malt. Palate: Primarily fruity when neat. Once reduced it gains cereal notes and becomes sweeter with malt emerging. The texture is good. Finish: Medium. Fruity. Killara is a relatively young Tasmanian distillery that was established in 2016 by Kirsty Booth-Lark who is (and I’m sure she’s sick and tired of people pointing this out) the daughter of Bill Lark. That makes it the first Australian distillery to be set up by a second-generation distiller. It’s a smallish distillery (but not quite micro) and they are set up for residential courses and events. They run two stills, both locally made in Tasmania, and both with slightly unusual shapes. I was very pleased that the first dram on our tasting flight was their new make – that's the way things should be done! It’s light and fruity and despite being served to us at Killara’s filling strength (63.4%) it had surprisingly little alcohol nip. The texture was a little flinty when neat, but with reduction to around 40% it gained an excellent creamy mouth-feel and the cereal notes were emphasized. There is a gentle malt extract aroma on the nose and the palate has a similarly malty quality but in both cases it’s restrained and there is no evidence of sulphur or feinty notes. It’s a very clean distillate and my second favourite Australian new make after Cape Byron. It’s not sold as a stand-alone product so if you want to try it you need to visit Tasmania – oh, what a hardship 🙂 “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Nose: Apricots, cherries, red berry juice, wine, brandy, red apples, caramel, spiced butter cookies and a hint of sandalwood. It’s a warm and fruity nose with baking spices in support. Water strengthens the caramel note. Palate: Oily barley with forest-fruit jam, cookies and fortified wine in the arrival. In the development I got oak spice, tannin, black pepper and walnut skins but the red-fruit character is king here and never subsides. A dash of water amplifies the fortified wine note even further and makes the texture softer and more silky, but also emphasizes the pepper spice. Finish: Medium. Oak, spices, fortified wine and red fruit. There is a familial similarity between all the “spot” whiskies that I have tried, but this Red Spot shows the most defined fortified red-wine influence. It has an interesting fruitiness that is compelling and both subtle and intense. It could easily be a wine-dominated train-wreck of a whisky but it somehow avoids disaster while maintaining a vigourous potency of character. I think it's the oily pot-still spirit that is key here - it probably wouldn't work as well with all malted barley spirit. I don’t know what type of marsala casks they use for Red spot but I’d guess they held sweet red marsala, but it could be a mix of casks. I’ve never been that partial to Green Spot but I am a devotee of the 12 year old Yellow Spot with its full-bodied malaga wine influence and I prefer it to this whisky, however that is very much a personal taste thing and I can see how a different palate would prefer Red Spot. In fact, on a different day I might prefer Red Spot myself. It's a bit like choosing between sauternes or port wine for dessert after a good meal ... both are great choices. I’m also basing this review on a single bar-pour and I’d prefer to get to know Red Spot better, but my gut feeling is that these are different but related versions of Midleton distillate that have been very skillfully crafted to appeal to different palates. The age difference is not that great but the maturation process for Red Spot is more costly and complex, hence its much higher price. It's a lovely whisky, and something suitably special for my 1,200th review. I’m giving it the same rating I gave Yellow Spot. Tasted as a 25 ml pour at Midleton Distillery Bar, 20 May 2024 “Very Good” : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Midleton Distillery post-tour tasting, 20 May 2024, whisky #2 Nose: Butter, honeydew melon, plaintain, vanilla, there is a metallic aroma like water from old plumbing. Palate: Sweetish vegetal, green apple and cereal flavours veering towards papery grain notes as it develops. The texture is OK. Finish: Medium/Short. Overbrewed tea, cardboard, oak. This is clearly identifiable as Midleton distillate but it is just as clearly overshadowed by almost everything else in the Midleton range. To be fair it is a blended whisky and, apart from the Jameson range, everything else made at Midleton is pot still or single malt so maybe that's an unfair comparison. The thing is, here in Australia for $20 more you can get Green Spot, which is a much tastier pure pot still whisky and better value overall, and at the other end of the scale Jameson is $20 cheaper and just about as good, so you can't help but wonder - why bother with Gold Label? "Average" : 79/100 (2.75 stars)

Nose: Fresh-cut hay, lemon oil, apple skins, gentle oak, a little vanilla. Allowing it some time to open in the glass adds depth but does not change the balance, the main difference being the appearance of cereal and dusty oak aromas. Adding water brings balance and even greater depth, with porridge and warm brioche emerging. Palate: The arrival is sweet and spritzy with zesty cinnamon and pepper spices over lemon custard. Semi-sweet tropical fruit comes forward in the development with honeyed herbs (rosemary, sage, tarragon) and some ale-like notes. There is a singular herbal and slightly briny character to the palate. The texture is creamy, particularly once reduced, and water also shows up sweet notes in the palate that are otherwise hidden. Finish: Medium. Sweet/briny citrus with beery notes. Reduction shortens but considerably softens the finish. This bottle changed a great deal once it was opened, and my notes above are based on it once it had sat at about 2/3 full for a month. Initially both the aromas and flavours were sharp and hot with aggressive, astringent citrus and herbal notes in abundance. However with time and oxygen it softened dramatically. The nose gained depth with peach and apple appearing, and the palate relaxed to a surprising degree with marshmallow lemon pie replacing the initial lemon flavours that were almost bitter. It is generally similar in profile to standard Craigellachie 13 (which also changes with oxidization, but to a lesser degree). There is the definite presence of something else at work here but if I had not known that ex-armagnac casks had played a role in the maturation I would never have guessed. It certainly does not show the characteristic presence of brandy casks, and if anything I would have guessed at palo cortado or fino sherry maturation. This bottle (batch code L23186ZA800 1319) was a birthday present from Mrs Cascode and we were a little disappointed on first tasting it, however over time it has opened wonderfully into an interesting and enjoyable dram. Initially I would only have given it 78/100, but as it is now, and particularly with a few drops of water, it is worth a higher score. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Nose: Restrained sherry, butter, toffee, maple fudge, resinous oak, gentle spices (nutmeg, clove). Reduction brings out an orange zest note. Palate: Sweet and rounded entry with lots of malt extract and some molasses. There is not a lot of development but some mild wood spices do come forward together with dried fruits and a little vanilla. Adding a dash of water develops some delightful orange marmalade flavours. Finish: Medium: Toffee and mild spice. There is a slight metallic note in the finish but it fades leaving a spritzy sweet aftertaste. Amber Lane distillery has been producing whisky on the NSW mid-coast for just over two years now. Their initial releases were, as is often the case in Australia, intense and boisterous young whiskies dripping with saturated sherry cask influence. Sometimes this “cram in as much intensity as possible” approach works, and they certainly made a good impression with their first bottlings, but it can also backfire and create a monstrous dram that lacks nuance. I bought some of their initial releases but soon lost interest, however I was a subscription “friend” of the distillery until late 2023 when the membership system changed to be a more expensive scheme that did not interest me. I cancelled the membership and received a store credit which I used to buy a bottle of this Equinox release. This is a more relaxed and much easier to drink dram than their earlier releases, and the balance between sherry cask and ex-bourbon cask maturation is good. It is also the most affordable whisky they have released and it feels more assured overall, if still a bit young. I’m not sure that I’d buy it again, given the other options in this price bracket, but it is worth the money. It’s good … not great, but good. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)