Tastes

Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 1), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 16 January 2020, Whisky #7 Nose: Cognac, red wine, leather, clove, allspice, caramel, licorice, oak. Palate: The arrival is immediately commanding with richly, syrupy sweet dark stewed fruits and immense astringent tannin in concert. It's a singular entry. The development brings an amplification of the dark fruits into heavy fruitcake, plum pudding, bitter marmalade and chocolate brownies dipped in armagnac and dusted with 100% bitter cacao. The texture is full and creamy. Finish: Medium. As the bitter notes die away the finish gains balance with butterscotch sweetness and a faint wine aftertaste. South Australian wine merchants Samuel Smith & Sons produced a whisky called Smith's Imperial Vat in the post-WWII period, up until 1970. The company was then bought by wine giant Yalumba and whisky production was discontinued, however the stills were fired for a few runs between 1997 and 2000. The distillery was partly decommissioned immediately afterwards, but was briefly recommissioned for runs in 2011 and 2014. This is one of the oldest Australian whiskies released to date. It was distilled in 2000 and matured in cask No.970637. The cask was topped up twice during maturation with spirit from the 1997 and 1998 runs and 142 bottles were produced. It was a great opportunity to taste it, however it is proof positive that age is not necessarily an indication of quality with regard to whisky. I found it to be overly tannic and I had the distinct feeling that it was a formerly very good whisky that had been kept in maturation for far too long and "engineered" in an attempt to improve its failing profile. When first sold to Yalumba subscription customers last year this whisky was priced at $175. On the secondary market it is currently changing hands for $600-900, but it's a really just a collector's item and I can't imagine anyone who has tasted it seeking this out for drinking. "Very Good once, but now Average and flawed" : 75/100 (2.5 stars)

Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 2), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 17 January 2020, Whisky #5 Nose: Sweet and full, malty, leathery with restrained spices including cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Honey and vanilla make an appearance together with dusky oranges, dried apricots, butterscotch syrup and light oak, but it is primarily a rich and multi-faceted malty nose with a tinge of smoke. Palate: An arrival of big malty fullness with a texture that is oily and encompassing. The development brings out ginger snap biscuits, Christmas cake, fresh red apples, creme caramel, dried dates, dried figs and butterscotch pastry. There is a minute whisper of elusive smoke. Finish: Long. Toffee cereal flavours resound into a warm citrus aftertaste. Surprisingly, this is not a particularly complex whisky with manifold facets. Rather it is straightforward but each element of the profile has great depth. It is a very satisfying, intense and rewarding whisky. Water adds an extra spectrum and enhances the creaminess and depth of palate rather than diluting the experience. The fruity notes become lighter and fresher, the texture is more elegant, the spice notes more sharply defined and the smoke note slightly amplified. It can accept considerable dilution without stress. Bill Lark is the godfather of Australian whisky. Without his activity in the 1990s to change state and federal legislation there would be no Australian whisky, rum or gin industry as it currently exists. The fact that he also found time to create spirits of impeccable quality is further testament to his energy and talent, if any were needed. Lark Cask Strength Single Malt is released occasionally by Lark Distillery in various forms. It changes with each batch and the casking has included first-fill ex-bourbon, sherry and port barrels in various combinations and sizes. Maturation is sometimes reversed from the usual approach, starting with a fortified wine cask and finishing in ex-bourbon. The age and strength of the batches also varies - it's released "when and as it's ready" and it has appeared in a variety of bottle shapes with different labels over the years, in 200, 500 and 700ml sizes. "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 1), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 16 January 2020, Whisky #5 Nose: Malt, barley sugar, sherry, stone fruits, a shy hint of excellent oak. Caramel emerges as it rests in the glass. A perfectly balanced and complete nose. Palate: A well balanced malty arrival offset by a tiny sweet brine note. Sweet but not cloying and it coats the palate just long enough to convey a sense of soft richness. The malt character morphs into a rich barley and dark fruit development that in turn progresses into almond fruitcake towards the finish. The texture is like velvet and there is absolutely no heat at all from the 53.5% abv strength. Finish: Long. Salted caramel cookies. A very good cask-strength whisky (outturn of 440 bottles) that picked up the Gold Medal and outright Champion trophy at last year's Australian Distilled Spirits Awards, and it's easy to understand why after one taste. This tasting was of bottle 249. Well balanced with great progression. The profile begins as almost a sherry bomb but through the course of tasting it softens, quietens, gains dryness and develops a salt caramel note on both the nose and palate. Highly satisfying, and for me one of the three standout whiskies of the evening. Adding water is well worth doing, not because it needs any taming but for the added softness and lightness of palate it creates. An already very good whisky gains elegance and poise that you did not realize could be achieved and the salty note is very slightly amplified. I can highly recommend it if you can find a bottle, but it will be hard to obtain. The bottle we tasted on the night was the last in stock, otherwise I would have snapped one up. I have not tasted widely from this distillery but I believe that while this particular expression was a standout, their other bottlings are close in style and quality. "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Update – August 28th 2024, a re-tasting based on Batch #7 All the comments and praise I have previously given can be reaffirmed, but in addition this batch I’m tasting has more classic rye notes (caraway and other seeds, black bread, etc.). The distillery has, however, retained the softness of the earlier batches and built upon that foundation to take the whisky up a step. Well done. I’m not the biggest fan of Archie Rose. I think their current cheaper range of spirits smells of marketing rather than dedication to quality, particularly since they opened the new distillery, however to give them their due they sometimes hit the ball right out of the park, and they have certainly done that here. Please note – this re-taste is based on a Batch #7 bottle (bottle 1254/1973 to be exact) that I bought in 2021 but have just opened. The mash bill is stated on it as simply “rye malt” whereas earlier batches stated “rye malt/pale malt” indicating barley presence. I have no idea what batch they are up to now and what the current mashbill comprises. This batch was also distilled at the old distillery. Oh, and the current price is the same as it was 3 years ago, so yeah - good job lads! Rating unchanged: "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars) -------------------------------------------------- Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 2), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 17 January 2020, Whisky #2 Nose: Sweet and light initially with perfumed herbal and honeyed apricot notes. It quickly gains depth and fresh oak, banana bread, very light vanilla/caramel and mild caraway and anise aromas develop. The dry glass is extremely faint, with just a ghost of toffee remaining. This is more like a good sherried Speyside nose than a rye. Palate: Soft and sweet with mild baking spice in the arrival. Cinnamon and ginger but not the hot varieties. There is no heat intensity at all, but a faintly spritzty quality, as of very mild bright spice or near-sherbety citrus as it develops. Vanilla, caramel, mixed dried fruit with citrus peel and cherries. The texture is like a soft cosy blanket. This is an excellent palate. Finish: Medium. Caraway and dill seed, a hint of brine that fades into a semi-sweet aftertaste. I've made a new "generic" listing for this whisky as although Archie Rose is releasing it in small batches it is a core product and all the batches are effectively the same (I've tasted the 1st batch previously and now the 4th this evening and there is no identifiable difference). However what certainly is different is the nature of this very interesting whisky. I recall being shocked when I first tasted it and it had the same effect tonight. Unless you have access to some very unusual whiskies I can guarantee that this is unlike any rye you have tasted before. It is like a mix of 3/4 crisp, clean, sherried scotch and 1/4 soft bourbon, with just a hint of rye. It has virtually no prickle, sharpness or spice but it is far from bland. It's a sweetly elegant rye with no bombast and it is bottled at moderate abv. The mashbill is a secret but the creamy, honeyed tones it displays are not due to minimal rye content, but rather the fact that they use malted rye instead of an unmalted rye mash. This is effectively a single malt whisky made with a mixture of Australian La Trobe barley and lightly kilned German rye, and it's absolutely delicious. I'd go so far as to say it is one of the best Aussie whiskies I've tasted and considering the reasonable price I'd highly recommend it. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)

Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 1), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 16 January 2020, Whisky #4 Nose: Fresh and full sweet aromas of cereal, vanilla shortbread, plums, baking spices and lightly fragrant fortified wine. There is no indication of high abv at all and no off notes. A rich but crisp nose. Palate: Sweet honeyed arrival with the botrytis cask finish being obvious. Toasted marshmallow, oatmeal cookies, creme caramel, and a touch of butterscotch supported by supple aged oak. Weighty, but delicate - firm, but elegant. The texture is creamy and excellent. Finish: Medium/long. Delicately sweet throughout. Hobart Whisky is produced by Devil's Distillery in Moonah, and inner-northern suburb of Hobart. Established in 2015 they hit the ground running and have already accumulated an impressive array of domestic and international awards, and have been well reviewed by some high-profile critics. More importantly, the local whisky community has enthusiastically embraced their releases. Maturation is typically in ex-bourbon casks, often with a short finishing in ex-fortified wine, pinot, tokaji, stout, rum and even maple syrup casks. This particular expression was a special limited release for The Oak Barrel's Sydney Whisky Fair in 2019 and was matured in ex-bourbon then finished in a re-coopered Tasmanian sauvignon blanc botrytis wine cask. The personality of this sweet dessert wine shows through in every aspect of the whisky but with a light-handed touch. It never becomes cloying or overbearing but rather it supports the rich malty character of the unadorned spirit and its sweetness completely masks the high proof (109.6). The addition of water brings out a little bitter spice on the palate and a floral but slightly soapy fragrance on the nose. I'd recommend taking this very easy to drink spirit neat. Like almost all Australian whisky this is expensive - $220 for a 500ml bottle - but it's one of the first I've tasted that I would actually consider buying at that price. "Good" : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 1), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 16 January 2020, Whisky #3 Nose: Prominent stewed fruit with a rubbery sulphur note, a heavy sherry oak presence and a golden syrup aroma. Palate: The arrival is sweet, syrupy and oaky and develops dried fruit flavours, but the palate turns bittersweet as it evolves. The texture is relatively heavy. Finish: Medium/short. Sweet. At first glance you might think this is an unusual Spanish name but it's actually the name of a heritage listed ghost town in New South Wales and it's pronounced exactly as it appears. The Joadja Distillery was established in 2014 just outside the historic area by the Jimenez family who own the township and manage it as a tourist attraction. The main touted aspect of this single malt is its maturation in ex-oloroso and PX sherry casks and their use of organic barley grown on site. The presence of the sherry casks permeates every aspect of the whisky to the point that it becomes an unapologetic one-note sherry bomb, and for me there was an obvious and unforgivably loud presence of sulphur on both the nose and palate. At 48% abv it can take a little water, which I thought improved the experience. The nose was tamed and the palate became drier and maltier with a pleasant hint of licorice. It did also become a little grainy and bitter, so dilution was a mixed blessing. The bottle we tasted was no.194 of batch 7, a combination of casks JW019 and JW021. I thought it was a good effort, but pretty clearly still a work in progress. The distillery needs time to gain experience and do some experimentation (hopefully including part maturation in less argumentative casks) but there is the basis of an interesting future expression. "Adequate" : 70/100 (2 stars)

Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 1), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 16 January 2020, Whisky #2 Nose: A big sherried nose with dark fruits. Light fruitcake, sweet grapey notes and honey. There is an odd varnish smell and a slightly rubbery aroma of sulphur. Water develops the sweeter facets of the nose and mutes the unattractive ones. Palate: The arrival is sweet and shows characteristics from the fortified wine casks. There is a some friendly spice, malty cereal notes and a hint of char. The texture is agreeable but the palate becomes a trifle dusty and cardboard-like after sitting for a while. Unfortunately water exacerbates this while adding nothing positive to the palate. Finish: Medium/short. Sweet malt and red fruits in the aftertaste, and that odd polish note returns. Tin Shed Distillers are located in South Australia and have been producing Iniquity whisky as a regular batch product for some years now. They have a loyal following and their very small batch releases tend to sell out quickly. Personally, I've never understood the attraction. This particular expression is a combination of whiskies matured in tawny (Australian port), apera (Australian sherry) and Australian red-wine casks coopered from French and American oak. This expression is different to previous batches, being lighter in character throughout and designed by a committee of amateurs. In July last year 10 teams of 3 "enthusiasts" took part in a blending competition in which they chose from a range of 6 Tin Shed cask samples to create a blend. The winning blend was released as Batch 17 "The Den's Dram". The distillers have said that while they won't be creating all their future whiskies this way, they will repeat such promotional events occasionally. I've never been a big fan of Iniquity. It tends to be inconsistent with a good batch followed by a poor one, and I usually get a feinty impression from even the good ones. It's like there are two different production teams who take turns to run the stills. I've tasted 5 of the batches now at tastings but even the best has not inspired me enough to want to buy a bottle. "Average" : 76/100 (2.5 stars)

Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 1), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 16 January 2020, Whisky #1 Nose: Cereal aromas well to the front with a little fruity note in support (red berries and grapes, but it's a dry fruity note rather than strongly fragrant). There is a light leatherwood honey quality and the faintest suggestion of smoke (but it might be something else I'm mistaking for smoke). The cask aroma is fresh and clean. Palate: The arrival is mainly centered on cereal, full and rounded baking spice notes and a little sultana in the background. It's dry rather than sweet, but certainly not too dry. As it develops, more spice emerges together with lots of crisp barley grist (which is the central flavour component), some light preserved fruits and even a little dark fruit. It becomes slightly sweeter as it progresses and the texture is good. Finish: Medium/short. Malty and lightly fruity. This is a product of a young distillery located in the township of Corowa in New South Wales, right on the Murray River which is the border between NSW and Victoria. They are using locally produced barley and Australian casks for this expression. The whisky is aged for two years in ex-red wine casks (first fill, I think) and you definitely get the sensation of fresh young oak and a subtle red fruit presence throughout the profile (but it's not what I call a strongly fruity whisky). The nose reminds me of both G.Rozelieurs Blue and Hellyers Road Pinot Cask. All three are fresh, cereal-led and feature the unmistakable aroma of young red-wine casks. It's a slightly winey aroma with a woody background that is closer to plywood than old, seasoned oak. That may not sound complimentary but on the contrary, it's a pleasant and clean aroma - just not one that suggests age. Adding water is not necessary as this whisky is easily quaffable at 46% with the alcohol content barely registering on the senses. It is also of debatable value as while it does unearth a little honeyed note on the palate the plywood aromas are over-emphasized and turn a little like wet cardboard. I enjoyed this - it's young, fairly simple and direct (you could be harsh and say juvenile) but it has a fresh and vibrant honesty that is very welcome. It is also competitively priced for an Australian whisky and piqued my interest in trying more of their expressions. "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)