Upshot Bandit Australian Corn Whiskey

N: Sticky, sweet verging on a cloying aroma. The corn is evident and almost candy corn in its sweet nature and very reminiscent of Nikka Coffey Grain, but it is just saved and tempered by barely which adds a hint of dry cereal and then perhaps a whiff of wheat as aniseed or menthol? P: Surprisingly full bodied and a nice mix of oily to creamy texture, but a little prickle of youth on the arrival. Vanilla, toffee, perhaps some more menthol. Thats about it. To it’s credit, its not trying to do more than that I don’t think. F: Medium. Butterscotch, a little toasty oak, a prickle of spice and youthful alcohol prickle. Right, first things first: I don’t know how this is supposed to differ from regular Upshot offered by Whipper Snapper?! It is different, markedly so. But, I don’t know why. The regular upshot is less youthful and feels lighter to me, with some florals on the nose that are not to be found in the Bandit. More of a maple and burnt sugar to the flavours of Upshot, Bandit is simpler and perhaps bolder. At $90 an Australian whisky with 700 ml (not 500 ml) in the bottle is just about unheard of, so massive credit to Alistair and his team on that. For me the regular Upshot is a better pick, but i would not be embarrassed to give this to newbies, amateurs like myself, or aficionados in any way. Distiller whisky taste #290 [Pictured here with chunk of granite from the Perth Hills just 20 minutes to the east of Perth and the home of Whipper Snapper. The Perth Hills are the expression of a massive scarp 1000 km long, a remnant of India breaking off of the Western Australian coast line and drifting away. The rocks exposed are part of the Archean aged Yilgarn Craton, an ancient continental block intruded 2.7-2.6 billion years ago by vast volumes of granites like this one] Whipper Snapper Running Scores Crazy Uncle Moonshine: 3/5 Crazy Uncle Barrel Aged Moonshine: 3.25/5 Upshot Bandit: 3.25/5
Upshot: 3.5/5 Upshot Cask Strength: 3.5/5 Upshot Red Corn: 3.25/5 Project Q: 3.25 Wheat Belt Series Wheat: 3.75/5 Wheat Belt Series Rye: 4.25/5 Wheat Belt Series Single Malt: 2.75/5

Nose: Sweet cereal (corn, oily barley), vanilla, toffee, oak. It's a simple, straightforward nose but it's very pleasant. Palate: Sweet vanilla and cereal. It’s a very young palate but not unpleasantly so. It tastes sprightly rather than brash and is very easy to drink. Vanilla, caramel, butterscotch pudding, maple syrup. The texture is silky and soft. Finish: Medium/Short. Sweet cereal fading to corn syrup. This affordable whisky is made from a mashbill of corn, wheat and barley and is aged in #3 char virgin American oak barrels. It has a sweet profile overall and although it has a simple character it is delightful, and dangerously easy, to drink. This is a perfect summer afternoon sippin’ whiskey that is surprisingly reminiscent of Irish pot-still whiskey. Upshot is one of several brands made by the Whipper Snapper distillery in East Perth, Western Australia. I’ve tasted four of their products so far and along with the Whipper Snapper Rye Whisky this has been my favourite. I did not like their Wheat Whiskey or Single Malt so much and, for me anyway, I’d love to see them putting all their energy into their corn and rye whiskies because this is clearly their strength. I enjoyed this a lot and I can see myself using it as an everyday sipper or as a mixer. On their site they have a recipe for a cocktail using this but it sounds disgusting so I’m not going there! Instead I cut it with dry ginger and it was fine. I wouldn’t bother to order this especially, but I’d buy it if I saw it in our local liquor shop. This joins the ranks of several very welcome sub-$100 local Australian whiskies that have appeared in our market over the last two years, and it's one of the best yet. “Above Average” : 81/100 (3 stars)