Manly Spirits "Coastal Stone" Elements Series Sherry Cask

Topped by Hawkesbury Sandstone, the 200 million year old rocks that Manly Spirits water flows through; makes this range of whisky awesome. As a geologist, this speaks to me! N: weak sweetness akin to strawberries and cream, woody cask notes are apparent as are the dried fruit flavours of the sherry. Something crisp and raw there but don’t know how to place it. P: a little prickly to me and perhaps masking the pleasant sherry fruits and chocolatey mouthfeel and softness. In all honesty though, I don’t find much here. F: short and peppery leaving a soft woodyness. A generously shared dram of bottle 33/1000 from the Third Batch. A young spirit (clearly) and the focus is not the spirit, as could be recognised from the five different barrel finishes offered by MS. One to watch certainly, but at $195 for 500 ml (46% ABV) this is an ambitious new whisky and one that is yet to deliver on its cost. Distiller whisky taste #24

Manly Spirits Inaugural Release Virtual Tasting, October 6th 2021, Sample #2 Nose: Pyrethrum daisies, cherries and a confectionery quality like faint strawberry sweets. Some sherry aromas but the green apple cider note from the new-make spirit pushes through. As it rests, a maple syrup note develops and a sawdust quality is noticed on the dry glass. Palate: Semi-sweet dark chocolate and fruit arrival. Very estery with orchard fruits in the development and a slight gingery quality towards the finish. The sherry presence is very restrained with no dark fruit or nutty flavours apparent. The texture is good. Finish: Medium/short. Loses presence quickly. This is the first official “Coastal Stone” whisky, which is the brand name that Manly Spirits has adopted for its whisky releases. This inaugural whisky was matured in a combination of shaved and re-toasted first fill ex-apera (ie Australian sherry) casks of 100 and 225 litre capacity. The smaller casks were matured for 4 years and the larger for 3 years. It is certainly whistle clean and shows some good qualities, but it also seemed too young. I thought it was better with a dash of water, which brought out the cask presence that was otherwise shy. The nose was improved in general by dilution, gaining heft, and the palate gained sweetness. While I prefer a spirit-driven whisky there is a difference between oak being controlled and simply absent. This seemed to me like the new-make with a veneer of oak influence rather than a whisky that has gained balance and complexity with age. I would love to taste this at 8-10 years of age when it had been given the time to reach its full potential, but such maturation would probably have to be in hogsheads only as that much time in 100 litre casks would produce far too much oak influence. However larger casks are both a logistical and financial issue, particularly for a young distillery. There is a shadow of greatness looming in Manly Spirits whiskies, but it is at present too incorporeal to fully discern. Interestingly, I was more impressed with some of their Work In Progress samples than this first official release. If this review seems a little harsh please also bear in mind that this whisky is AUD$200 for a 500ml bottle, which means for 750 ml it would cost the equivalent of US$220. Expense and volume of production are common issues for young Australian distilleries and while I never deduct from a rating because of price, the bottom line is that I can buy far better whiskies for that sort of money. “Average” : 78/100 (2.75 stars)