Bakery Hill Sovereign smoke

Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 2), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 17 January 2020, Whisky #6 Nose: Peat smoke, caramel, honeyed citrus. A vegetal note in the background that is reminiscent of some Scottish peated whiskies. Palate: Smoke on the arrival together with sweet earthy citrus and salty caramel notes. The development is warm and focuses more on cereal and malt flavours, however in time smoke re-asserts itself and finds balance with the sweet notes. The texture is creamy and the smoke is gently omnipresent like a soft light blanket. Finish: Medium/long. A little oak, some sweet notes and mild peat smoke on the aftertaste. Although it has the statement “defiantly peated” on the label and was apparently produced at 45ppm level, this is a mild and elegant smoky whisky and no simple peat monster. It reminded me just a little of Laphroaig Select, but without any medicinal notes and with greater earthy sweetness. There’s also a slight similarity to some aspects of Longrow, which is no bad thing. However, first and foremost this has the typical Bakery Hill character. It’s a showcase variant of their new-make spirit but it still highlights the distillery’s signature profile of dry cereal with a touch of honey. Aged for 7-8 years in ex-bourbon barrels, which is relatively long for an Australian whisky, this is one of the better Bakery Hill expressions I've tasted. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

In their other peated expressions David mentioned that they aimed for the Highland style/source of peated barley vs typical Islay/Island style. Also the ppm are around the 20 mark vs your usual ~ double for most of the main islay distilleries. The aim was to ensure balance and not over power the other components of the whiskies. All David's whiskey were very well balanced which is important for the type of speyside profile dram and shows true craftsmanship. Anyhow 8 years ago he was offered a load of peated Belgian malt. He said he got offers all the time so didn't think much of it but when he sampled it he knew he had something special on his hands so bought a few pallet loads. 8 years later this was the result. Apparently we'd need to wait for another 8 years if he's going to do it again. Anyhow the dram itself is really nice. The malty vanilla balancing out with the islay style peat profile. Very nice and my favorite of the range. Sadly not in my tasting pack I bought as this just landed 5 weeks ago. They had a naming competition and out of several hundred entries his son wittled them down to a select few and there were two names they were in agreement on so they used both on the label. Sovereign Smoke and Defiantly Peated.

Nose: Salted Caramel, Rich Cantaloupe, nutmeg, forest floor, brown sugar. Palate: A Burst of flavour ranging from sea salt to sweet cedar, to malted milk. Finish: Sweetness that lingers on the lips, pipe tobacco, medium to long finish.