Tin Shed "Iniquity" Batch 017

Australian Single Malt Whisky Tasting (Part 1), The Oak Barrel, Sydney 16 January 2020, Whisky #2 Nose: A big sherried nose with dark fruits. Light fruitcake, sweet grapey notes and honey. There is an odd varnish smell and a slightly rubbery aroma of sulphur. Water develops the sweeter facets of the nose and mutes the unattractive ones. Palate: The arrival is sweet and shows characteristics from the fortified wine casks. There is a some friendly spice, malty cereal notes and a hint of char. The texture is agreeable but the palate becomes a trifle dusty and cardboard-like after sitting for a while. Unfortunately water exacerbates this while adding nothing positive to the palate. Finish: Medium/short. Sweet malt and red fruits in the aftertaste, and that odd polish note returns. Tin Shed Distillers are located in South Australia and have been producing Iniquity whisky as a regular batch product for some years now. They have a loyal following and their very small batch releases tend to sell out quickly. Personally, I've never understood the attraction. This particular expression is a combination of whiskies matured in tawny (Australian port), apera (Australian sherry) and Australian red-wine casks coopered from French and American oak. This expression is different to previous batches, being lighter in character throughout and designed by a committee of amateurs. In July last year 10 teams of 3 "enthusiasts" took part in a blending competition in which they chose from a range of 6 Tin Shed cask samples to create a blend. The winning blend was released as Batch 17 "The Den's Dram". The distillers have said that while they won't be creating all their future whiskies this way, they will repeat such promotional events occasionally. I've never been a big fan of Iniquity. It tends to be inconsistent with a good batch followed by a poor one, and I usually get a feinty impression from even the good ones. It's like there are two different production teams who take turns to run the stills. I've tasted 5 of the batches now at tastings but even the best has not inspired me enough to want to buy a bottle. "Average" : 76/100 (2.5 stars)