Fleurieu Distillery "Fountain of Youth" Single Malt

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)