Tastes

N: Very sweet. This speaks of a floral honey with a sugary ‘texture’ that reminds me of old fudge that has started to recrystallise brown sugar. The underlying malt is of a wet cereal nature that almost gets to an off-putting vegetal feel. P: Slightly thin, but also slightly creamy. The palate is dominated by a sweet watered down apple juice. A little coconut trending towards very sweet vanilla, a generic tea biscuit represents the malt. A generic touch of spice notes. F: Short. A thin apple-biscuit with candied ginger fading to a slightly grainy texture. The nose is uncomplicated, but not necessarily in a bad way. The direct simplicity of sweetness does allow a pleasant floral touch to come out, but perhaps not excusing the nearly off-putting vegetal element to the malt. The palate and finish offer no depth but thats not the worst thing for a AUD$44.95 every day shelf position. I’m not a huge fan of excessively sweet malts when there is a lack of other elements but this is just fine. No tough edges and only the slightest complaint from the nose. At this price point, I’d take it over JW Red label, but would pass it over for Monkeys Shoulder which offers a little more savoury heft. Kindest of thanks to the Oracle @cascode for another generously shared dram. Distiller whisky taste #238 [Pictured here with a chalk from the Yorkshire coast of England. The white cliffs that this rock comes from are Cretaceous in age and represent a former shallow marine tropical epicontinental sea and the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates (coccoliths) shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores.]

N: Huge, and with a definite alcohol burn creeping in at the end. Bold, and very forward with a blend of dark chocolate bitterness, tobacco leaf, musty wooden boxes, and a sweet malt. Dark cherry, and leathery heavily tannic spice. P: Not as alcohol burn laden as the nose would suggest. An astringent and slightly bitter approach filled with more dark chocolate, dark cherry, raisin, cinnamon and a whack of peppery heat. The oak here is a little overwhelming, astringent, tannic, and spiced to what should be an illegal level. I am hoping water calms and opens this. Something good wants to escape. F: Medium-long. Tannic and drying, espresso crema and a little sticky dark caramel. More pepper. A hefty dash of water and a cloudy and turbid transformation starts to unravel. A dry, warm, more tobacco laden malt unfolds and gently subdues the raw spirit burn. Tannins calm and a deep dark fruit body moves into their place. This is the depths of a Hans Christen Anderson fairy tale forrest now. The palate follows suit, softer mouthfeel accompanies a dark fruit cake with deeply browned edges. Dark toffee, sweeter cherry, mocha, no pepper but plenty of bakery spice and warmth. The finish moves towards an oily bitter chocolate and slightly nutty cherry. This has been a very protracted run. Disappointingly my memory of the progression through my Spring Bay samples is limited at best. This means I am unable to really say that there has been a common flavour theme running through them. Rather the palates have been somewhat forgettable. I think in large part, the generic quality of these drams has been heavily impacted by very powerful oak influence to the detriment of the underlying spirit which I believe might be quite good. In tonights pour, the abs is high enough to allow an exploration with dilution that finds something of a diamond in the rough. Perhaps one to watch for later years but for now, they just need to calm down, stick to the bourbon casks perhaps and focus on getting the ageing and wood contact correct. Oh, for those that care, this pour was from 100 bottles only, a 3.5 year raging in ex-Sullivans Cove refill casks that I believe had a sherry influence at some point in time. Distiller whisky taste #237 [Pictured here with an intraformational conglomerate. 20 km outside of Marrakesh, Morocco is the Lower Carboniferous (346-323 million years old) Jebilet Inlier. An inlier is an old rock formation isolated amongst younger formations. Inliers typically form through erosion of overlying young rocks to reveal a limited exposure of the older rocks below. Within the inlier are packages of sedimentary rocks including these conglomerates. They consist of rounded pebbles of sandstone and limestones identical to the rocks the conglomerate is found interbedded with which indicates this rock as an intra-formational conglomerate.⁣] Spring Bay running scores: Bourbon Cask: 3.5/5 The Rheban: 3.25/5 Apera Cask: 3/5⠀ PX Cask: 3.25/5⁣ French Oak WLA: 3.5/5

Tonight, lets see if the Spanish can perform better than the Aussies at adding a sherry cask influence to the Tasmanian spirit out of Spring Bay. This one is a limited edition of 60, 500 ml bottles, produced for Australia ’The Whisky List’. This one comes from a 35 litre PX cask after two years in the barrel. On pouring this is thick and with legs for days. I’m a little excited, hopefully expectations don’t get dashed now… N: Thick, heavy, sticky, and oozing with raisins and bakery spices. To be honest, the raisin is so dominant as to not let much else through. There is a caramel trying to sneak through, and some oak tannins are there. Hopefully a drop of water shortly will do the trick. P: Sticky and viscous with some prickly heat. Bitter dark chocolate, a slight leather and tobacco and dark sticky caramel are the main players here. The sweetness, which is again driven by raisin comes in towards the back end of the palate. Chewing this over and some malty biscuit is coming out. Tannic spice develops towards more astringent over oak’edness with more sips. The caramel does move up and tone down the raisin with the oak though. F: Medium-long. Sticky dates, stewed raisin, oaky spice. A splash of water, a swirl, a sit, and another swirl. Not as thick on the nose, but much more woody spice, caramel turns towards toffee, and an undertone of malt is there also. The palate rounds out, losing the overbearing thickness, some fresher brighter character comes out with some banana (as was the case for the Apera) the spices more nuanced with cinnamon and maybe even a little anise?. The high proof heat is more apparent now also - interesting. Finish is crisper, with a definite rich-tea biscuit appeal. There is a lot going on in here, not least of all is a heavy oak presence. I don’t know if it is incautious barrelling or that the Spring Bay spirit doesn’t do well in European Oak, but; as for the Apera Cask, the heavy oak gets in the way of some genuinely lovely flavours. I would though say this is objectively better than the Apera on the addition of a splash of water. So far, I have to say; they’ve been just fine as something to kick back with. But they are not worth the price tag at almost AUD$200 for a 500 ml bottle, even at 56% this just isn’t worth it. Distiller whisky taste #236 [Pictured here with a sandy-conglomerate from the end Jurassic of Oxford, England. In present day Oxford the end Jurassic saw a rapid relative fall in sea level (a regression) causing sandy and silty materials to deposit over the deeper marine Oxford Clays and eventually, a break in deposition (an unconformity). This sample represents the transitional period between the break in deposition at the end Jurassic and renewed Cretaceous sedimentation. When sedimentation decreases in a location erosion usually increases. These particular oxford conglomerates are formed from clasts derived from the sandy and silty lithologies from the time that Sauropods reigned supreme, but buried beneath the overlying sediments that the giant theropod hunters stalked.] Spring Bay running scores: Bourbon Cask: 3.5/5 The Rheban: 3.25/5 Apera Cask: 3/5⠀ PX Cask: 3.25/5⁣

Pressing on with Spring Bay number three, this time from an Apera Casking (Australian Sherry). N: No hiding it, this is an Apera Assault. Lots of big malty fruitcake, salty, caramel, slight tannic spice, pencil shavings, cloves and cinnamon. Beautiful control of sweet and savoury. Slight saltiness was unexpected but well received. P: Comes in creamy and tannic. A slightly warm astringent oak becomes bigger as the palate progresses. More malt but heading in the direction of mashed banana as a backdrop to the raisin, toffee, mocha and clove spice. The Apera is great, but the oak is muscles to the front and stops this from really shining. F: Medium. Plump raisin and caramel are the mouth filling presence that wants to stick around, but, it is the oak that again lingers. The spicy heat is slightly gingery at this point and there is a deft hint of barrel char. This one surprised me, i hadn’t expected such a powerful wood presence on this, but that was a heavy handed oaking, too much wood barged forward and really drowned out the nuance and delicacy of what is seemingly a cute little spirit and some lovely Apera flavours. Spring Bay dropped the ball a bit here. Shame, I really want to like this distillery. A splash of water tamed this too much and made it into a non-distinct and entirely uncharacterful dram that was more like weak raisin water than top shelf whisky. Distiller whisky taste #235 [Pictured here with a muddy-conglomerate from the Cretaceous Corallian Group of southern England. These conglomerates are filled with flint/chert pebbles and lots of microfiche teeth. The rock likely formed in a pre-existing submarine channel produced by submarine currents that were related to large scale movements as rotating fault blocks scooped downwards into basement rocks.] Spring Bay running scores: Bourbon Cask: 3.5/5 The Rheban: 3.25/5 Apera Cask: 3/5⠀ (I’m a numpty, I added this bottle into Distiller at 49% ABV it is infact, 46% ABV. Would be great if we could edit our bottle entries Distiller, or submit corrections! @mikael )

Wow, two weeks get around to the second in five from Tasmania’s Spring Bay distillery. Still, here now and taking some time to work through what I suspect is going to be a heavy hitting dram. Distilled in 2016 this NAS offering was matured in ex-Tawny (Aussie Port) French Oak and bottled at 58% ABV. Not cheap at $235 but at least its a 700 ml which keeps it relatively competitive in the Aus market. This pour is from cask #138. N: This is instantly a rich and velvety whisky, beautiful toffee-butterscotch and sweet stewed plums and strawberries. Slight acidity and a refreshing herbal spice note of menthol and anise. Although thick and heavy, this is still inviting and taking me towards a Christmas invocation. P: Surprisingly gentle there is a generous brown sugar dose that turns towards a darker caramel. Plums and dates join with deep spices of clove, cinnamon and warming pepper. The oak is tannic and a little drying but compliments well. The palate develops into something chewier and sweeter, stewed pears and honey perhaps. The high ABV keeps things interesting and releases the profile slowly and with consideration. F: Long. Dark cherry, a slightly bitter dark chocolate-mocha note and more tannic spices. A dash of water brings some youth back to the nose, the alcohol becomes a little acetone-y but also unlocks a little of the underlying malt character, not as gristy as in the bourbon cask, but slightly youthful none the less. The palate becomes quite thin and loses richness and, sadly, character. Much more menthol and anise heading into the finish. There is a new rhubarb and custard vibe thats a little vibrant but otherwise water didn’t do this any favours for me. I am a sucker for a port cask, and whilst I acknowledge that over casking can result in too much of a port driven liquid, this stays inside the goal posts for a balanced spirit-cask offering. I quite like this but wouldn’t stretch to buy a bottle as I think it lacks the nuance the VFM that is offered by, for instance; Arran Port Cask. Still, good to get a dram in this fortnight! Probably see whoever is still kicking around in another two weeks! Distiller whisky taste #234 [Pictured here with a Pudding Stone for this portly desert of a dram. This is an ~55 million year old siliceous-conglomerate from Hertfordshire in the UK. The rock formed as a shore deposit; a bed of pebbles that was infiltrated by silica rich waters. A major control on the formation of silica cements is silica dissolution due to temperature change. This Puddingstone is from close to the time of the “Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum” when average global temperatures were 8 °C hotter than today. The PETM trigger is attributed to uplift associated with the onset of the mantle plume that created Iceland. Thermal pulses from the Iceland Plume also caused shifts in sea levels and pumping of waters through sedimentary basins.⁣ So, a mantle plume underneath Iceland led to the heating of seawater that caused silica dissolution, and helped drive thesilica-saturated fluids through shore-line pebble deposits that sat in a sedimentary basin underneath a 55 million year old land surface, eventually cementing them into this conglomerate.] Spring Bay running scores: Bourbon Cask: 3.5/5 The Rheban: 3.25/5

Haven’t had much time for considered whisky tastings of late, but have, for a long time now been looking forward to this series from Tasmania’s Spring Bay Distillery. SB was established in 2015 from exclusively Tasmanian barley and rain water. The coastal location of the distillery is alleged to afford a sweet salinity to the rainwater. This dram is from an ex-Makers Mark bourbon cask (#137). I have nonidea what the cask variability is like, but in the absence of an offical listing I’m dropping this one here to avoid rouge reveiws. N: A soft and creamy vanilla creme brûlée, coconut, and a lightly vegetal or herbaceous gristiness. The nose feels quite young with a little alcohol presence. Time in glass doesn’t do much at all. P: Surprisingly thick and full with a peppery alcohol up front. Bright and sweet, toffee, lots of barely sugar malt, pencil shavings and a grilled fruit compote of peaches, coconut, and caramel. This is young, but; balances sweet and savoury really well with a complex texture driven by creaminess and tannins. Importantly, there is a great lick of salt that makes up for any young edges. F: Long. Salted caramel, pepper, oaky tannins. A good opening gambit from the east coast Tassie distillery. A solid distillate presence, but perhaps a little too much barrel tannin. The salty element here, if it runs through their other expressions runs serious risk of being addictive (and expensive!) From a bright and sweet opening, the flavours build across the palate to a rich, clean crescendo culminating in a big, warm comforting glow. Distiller whisky taste #233 [Pictured here with a large lump of Mowbowra Conglomerate from Exmouth, Western Australia. This rock is comprised of limestone and coral pebbles formed as foreshore beach deposits as interglacial river discharges flowed over exposed limestone terraces 240,000-170,000 years ago]. Spring Bay running scores: Bourbon Cask: 3.5/5

N: A thick, cereal laden and slightly creamy bouquet. Powerful medley of gristy malting, dusty porridge oats, brown sugar and some creamy vanillin. This is thick and full, the high proof is a little subdued by the cereals dominance but does just sneak in. Ten minutes later (on good advice) and there is a delicate peat smoke and subtle aromatic-herbal presence. P: No surprises - malt. A complex and refined malt though, this has the heft of a tea biscuit with the sweetness of a barley sugar hard candy and the creaminess of butterscotch. Apple crispness with a sticky caramel at the edges. Peat smoke is warm but remains in the background with a menthol palate cleansing lift. F: Ludicrously long. Oak tannins are spicy, peat smoke is ashy. Menthol and mint is powerful and refreshing. @cascode, you are yet again too kind. A generously shared dram gratefully received. And thank you for the recommendation that this needs a long time to develop in the glass and that water is the cheat code needed to unlock this. So, thats what I’ve done. N: A hit of water demonstrates how compressed this nose was, everything has lengthened and released a slight sweet-hay and lanolin aroma, the peat is delicate, floral and ever so distant is some anise. P: Peat is brought right up to the front and it brings with it a stewed plum spiced with white pepper, ginger, and citrus zest. The malt is still there but it is lighter and maybe even a touch darker? Like a biscuit cooked past blonde. F: Much the same save for the salivation that the juicy apple and menthol brings out. Fifteen minutes later and I can still feel a slightly ashy, peppery, and freshly grated cinnamon playing on my palate. This is a big, and seemingly simple whisky on first approach. And not treated with care and patience, one to easily overlook, Yet, for a high proof liquid there is a lovely distillate driven delicacy that is at odds with its ABV. A remarkably well made, surgically clean, and confident entry from a tiny Australian distillery. Distiller whisky taste #232 [Pictured here with a message from the mantle. Transported to the surface in volcanic lavas (commonly basalts), mantle xenoliths (foreign rocks) are chunks of solidified mantle. The Earth’s mantle is full of olivine and so these xenoliths are typically comprised of bright green olivine and some minor black pyroxenes. This mantle xenolith surrounded by black basalt is from Tenerife.]

Still working my way through the generous package sent by the great @cascode. Tonight, my first Ardnamurchan. Racked out of fifty barrels in September 2022 and created from 94% peated malt, this one should be a smoky beast. The other 6% is an unseated sherry cask aged malt. The maturation regime for the bulk of this liquid was 88% Bourbon wood with the remainder sherry casks. N: 58.4% lets itself be known but not in an obtrusive way. Bright crunchy orchard fruit, a slightly sweaty smoked cheese, fresh oysters, oaky vanillin, slightest suggestion of lemon. P: Bracing. Big oakiness, huge peppery spice, briny and slightly waxy smoke wrap around toffee and a slight berry freshness. F: Medium. Slightly grainy texture unfolds rife with ash and pepper and salt. In the notes @cascode sent me was the comment “this loves and needs water and a long time to rest before it wakes up”. I will comply, because my word the first few sips of this were intense and just blasted through my palate masking what I suspect are some lovely notes. I’ve given this dram about a teaspoon of water and left it to mellow for ten minutes. N: Brighter, lighter. A delicate perfume and oily wood fragrance comes out the smoke unfolds and adds a soft warmth vanilla pushes more towards caramel and the slightly sweaty cheese is gone. Marshmallow and strawberries and cream hard candy. A slightly mineral element to the maritime influence evolves, taking this from oysters to salty beach pebbles. P: Is this the same whisky? Not as forceful but owning its presence. A lovely wooded chardonnay creaminess to the wood is blended with prickly black pepper turning to vibrant red chilli. Dry tea and tobacco, a sweet brown sugar crystallises at the margins. Some crispy bacon, a red fruit jam and some fresh white bread all mingle into a powerful profile. And the smoke, its woody, salty and brings just enough of itself to elevate the whole dram without overpowering it. F: Much the same as pre water, but ever so slightly nutty and the texture has thickened slightly and brings a little salty aniseed/peppermint freshness. What a journey that was. This is a very complex and highly interesting pour. But, I didn’t find this approachable, this was an olfactory workout for me. Definitely not something I think I could sit and enjoy at ease, but definitely one to sit and nerd out over arguing about the profile it presents. Biggest, and most obvious takeaway, when @cascode suggests adding water; you add water. Distiller whisky taste #231 [Pictured here with a Scottish classic. This rock is a cordierite metasediment from Banff on the north coast of Aberdeenshire. The rocks here are marine sediments that have been metamorphosed at high temperatures 470 million years ago. This rock preserves its original sedimentary layers with new growth of cordierite appearing as dark spots. The cordierite here is dark as it has itself been altered to a fine mix of chlorite and muscovite]

This liquid is from a single cask release produced from an ex-McWilliams Apera (Aussie Sherry) puncheon. 369 bottles were made available from the distillery door or direct from Amber Lane… and by way of subsampling by the overly generous @cascode N: Rich and thick with chocolate, dark honey, raisin, cinnamon, and a very waxy orange peel. No notion of the monster proof that hides within. P: Chocolate covered toffee, candied ginger, brown sugar, and crisp orchard fruit lead the charge. The palate evolves into something quite textural and reminiscent of grainy cracked, dry leather. A fruiter and brighter presence is buried in here also but I’m struggling to tease it out. F: Long. A big spice builds up with cinnamon and maybe nutmeg. An oppressive heat from that spice is held off buy more juicy raisins and, a late entry from a fresh mango (what the heck, am I imagining that?!) A few drops o water, a swirl, and several minutes later… the nose is slightly lifted and lightened but I lose the orange presence and a slight vomity sourness comes in. The palate, softer and less textural and whilst a lovely creamy chocolate texture takes over I also lose the bright fruits. Finish goes away almost completely. A curious whisky that I don’t quite no what to make of. There are some lovely heavyweight power punches in here and a few lighter deftly applied jabs. But a few of the flavours that do pop in and out, whilst pleasant enough, are a little juxtaposed and jarring to me. Also, water spoiled the experience for me. I don’t know if I am off tonight or not, but this just didn’t mesh well with me it seems. My only other Amber Lane was a Sherry Cask. And I am going to copy and paste my closing notes from that here, they apply exactly: “Amber Lane claim to be simple, down to earth and focused on flavour. I can agree with them, that they have achieved that here. [Liquid Amber] [Sherry Lane] is a simple, bold and punchy young spirit that delivers few flavours very well. They have a pot still designed to maximise copper contact in order to produce a more complex flavour chain. I must disagree there. The local barely is all but lost to the powerful choice of casking and relatively long contact time with the wood. Whilst enjoyable, I would have liked more from the underlying spirit rather than hiding behind a wall of sherry cask.” Distiller whisky taste #230 [Pictured here with a rock from Port Macquarrie about three hours north of the Yarramalong Valley on the east coast of Australia where Amber Lane is distilling. This rock is a blue schist, a high pressure metamorphic rock, that records an ancient subduction zone on the Eastern margin of Gondwana] Amber lane running scores: Liquid Amber Australian Malt: 3.25/5 No. 1 Sherry Lane Special Release Single Cask: 3.25/5

A bourbon making its way into my glass, a rare occurrence. This dram from single barrel number 1146 was filled on the 18th of June 2013 and bottled on the 5th of November 2021. Graciously received from @cascode. N: Sweet buttery, and caramel laden, corn (unsurprisingly). A slightly dusty or gristy backdrop brings with it some wood shavings and a touch of herbal-menthol influence. P: Surprisingly vibrant and lively. Sweet, sure, but there is a depth to the sweetness. Not just corn and vanilla, but candied ginger, strawberries and cream, desiccated orange rind, and a little honey. There is a wonderful warmth to a well balanced astringency that delivers the best of the oak and a peppery spice. The end of the palate just about gets into a leathery presence. F: Medium. Coconut, a little cocoa powder, dark caramel and something fresh and red berry like. Whilst I am not well versed in bourbon, I am a particular fan of the leathery and thick caramel richness of the bourbon I do like, namely Woodford Double Oak and Russels Reserve. This one caught me off guard. From what I felt was a lacklustre nose the palate and finish gave me a varied and lively flavour experience that had me confused over what I was drinking. Certainly a fun and interesting dram that I would be pleased to have on permanent rotation. Distiller whisky taste #229 [Pictured here with a piece of Morton Gneiss from southwestern Minnesota, and the USAs oldest rock. Originally this was a granite crystallised form molten rock deep below the earths surface 3.5 billion years ago. Two and a half billion years ago it as caught up in tectonic collision that subjected it to immense pressures and temperatures and caused it to be intruded by another granite. The mixing of these two granites was further overprinted 1.7 billion years ago by more metamorphism to produce this wonderful gneiss.