Morris Muscat Barrel

The grape of the muscat hits right from the get go, adding a lot of fruity, slightly musky high notes on the nose. Out of the glass, the flavor is smooth, round, creamy and very dessert-like. A lot of muscat sweetness along with the inherent malt creates a lovely lightly glazed pie crust character. A perfect after dinner dram. As for the finish, it fades on an even keel, ending with a lovely lingering sweetness. A real gem of a whisky.

Sydney Whisky Show May 20th 2023. Whisky #1 Nose: Treacle, raisins, malt extract, toasted nuts, brandy and some musty fortified wine notes. Palate: Fruit cake with citrus peel and seeds. Mocha, fig jam, dried dates, grape jelly, apple and cinnamon pastry, baking spices (nutmeg, cloves, caraway). A little late sweetness and an oaky note towards the finish. Finish: Medium. Fruit, malt spicy sweetness. A sweet aperitif aftertaste. Well, you have to start somewhere so my tasting #1 for this year’s show was the Morris Muscat Barrels expression. This has been around for a couple of years now and I reviewed its core-range stablemate the Signature expression when it was first released. I was not greatly impressed with that one at the time so I’ve been putting off tasting any more Morris whisky, however when it’s free and can function as the first whisky of the day … why not? As it turned out I enjoyed this a great deal more than I expected to, and a lot more than the Signature expression. The definite sulphur I noticed in that whisky was absent here, either that or it was simply masked, but either way I much preferred this dram. It had greater presence and complexity and also seemed to have more maturity. Maybe their range has simply improved over the last two years? I found nothing similar to the official tasting notes here, and as those were written back then perhaps their whisky has changed profile? I guess I should try the Signature again. This is still a trifle young, but no more than a host of other NAS Australian whiskies that are currently available. I enjoyed it enough that I’d maybe buy a bottle some time, and I’ll be interested to see what happens with Morris whisky as their stocks age. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

NOSE Jammy dark fruit, dry malt, honey nut cheerios, pastries, a touch of brown sugar, vanilla and earthiness. Dense fruity profile leads and everything else revolves around it. PALATE Jammy dark fruit, dry malt, Vanilla candy, honey nut cheerios, pastries, a touch of earthiness and herbalness. Fruity but far more earthy, dry and malty than the aroma. FINISH Medium -> Fruit, malt, spice, and some earthy notes.

Nose: Rich molasses, dates, papery, powdery baking spice; like the aroma of a dusting rather than the spice itself. Palate: Wonderfully soft with dried dark fruits which give way to a sweet vanilla bean. A developing oak flavour. Finish: A rolling date and vanilla sweetness with oak arriving in waves as a compliment.