Nose: Immediately smoky with a sweet, full-bodied and fruity character (barbecued apricots, pineapple and mango). Some vanilla and trademark rye spice notes (mint, cloves, allspice, licorice, linseed). Gentle and soft but not at all shy. It has an earthy, ashen quality but it is not cold or austere. A delightfully balanced smoke aroma. Palate: Sweet and mildly spicy arrival. Baked stone fruits, caramel and ginger chunks in syrup with baking spices in the development but the standout feature is the smoke character. It’s earthy, clean, ashy, leathery and woodsy like a forest that was burnt-out a few weeks ago but has since had a cleansing fall of rain. Petrichor, grass and fragrant herbs with lifted fruity notes. The texture is rich, oily and suave. Finish: Medium/long. Smoky, earthy and herbal on the aftertaste with a background note of menthol. A different type of smoke character to any Scottish peated dram, but not at all like wood-smoked whisky either. It’s something quite unique and probably the most nuanced and sophisticated peated Australian whisky that I have tasted. The smoke quality is more like that of mezcal than Islay peat. Peter Bignall has hit one for six, again, right over the stands. This was the last of 24 drams I tasted at the Sydney Whisky Show in May this year and it was a very satisfying conclusion to the afternoon. Of all the whiskies I sampled on the day the Belgrove expressions were the most consistent and interesting. This peated expression is recommended, as is everything produced by Belgrove, particularly the cask-strength ryes and the oat whisky. I see that Peter has also been turning his hand to fruit spirits, white rye and liqueurs recently but I’m sure that will not distract him from his whiskies. This tasting was of Release 4 which was a single-cask outturn, 2-3 years old and bottled on 27 August 2020 at a strength of 50% abv. As with every Belgrove whisky this is a small batch product so the next peated release may be different in profile, but what is absolutely certain is that whatever it is, it will be worth tasting and worth the wait. “Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)