Smith's Angaston Whisky 18 Year (2000/2018)

Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 1), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 16 January 2020, Whisky #7 Nose: Cognac, red wine, leather, clove, allspice, caramel, licorice, oak. Palate: The arrival is immediately commanding with richly, syrupy sweet dark stewed fruits and immense astringent tannin in concert. It's a singular entry. The development brings an amplification of the dark fruits into heavy fruitcake, plum pudding, bitter marmalade and chocolate brownies dipped in armagnac and dusted with 100% bitter cacao. The texture is full and creamy. Finish: Medium. As the bitter notes die away the finish gains balance with butterscotch sweetness and a faint wine aftertaste. South Australian wine merchants Samuel Smith & Sons produced a whisky called Smith's Imperial Vat in the post-WWII period, up until 1970. The company was then bought by wine giant Yalumba and whisky production was discontinued, however the stills were fired for a few runs between 1997 and 2000. The distillery was partly decommissioned immediately afterwards, but was briefly recommissioned for runs in 2011 and 2014. This is one of the oldest Australian whiskies released to date. It was distilled in 2000 and matured in cask No.970637. The cask was topped up twice during maturation with spirit from the 1997 and 1998 runs and 142 bottles were produced. It was a great opportunity to taste it, however it is proof positive that age is not necessarily an indication of quality with regard to whisky. I found it to be overly tannic and I had the distinct feeling that it was a formerly very good whisky that had been kept in maturation for far too long and "engineered" in an attempt to improve its failing profile. When first sold to Yalumba subscription customers last year this whisky was priced at $175. On the secondary market it is currently changing hands for $600-900, but it's a really just a collector's item and I can't imagine anyone who has tasted it seeking this out for drinking. "Very Good once, but now Average and flawed" : 75/100 (2.5 stars)