Amber Lane tasting at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 8 June 2022. Whisky #4 Nose: Sherry, chocolate covered raisins, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, orange concentrate. This is a big, commanding nose. Palate: Raisins, chocolate and honey. The development brings stone fruits, pears stewed in sherry, crème caramel, baking spices and a little hot ginger. The later palate has meaty leather and tobacco notes. With water the palate is subdued but not damaged. Finish: Medium. The core sherried chocolate-raisin character persists, with a touch of spice lingering into the aftertaste. Amber Lane is a young distillery located in the Yarramalong Valley of New South Wales, mid way between Sydney and Newcastle. The distillery was founded by Rod Berry and Phil Townsend in 2017 and has had its first festival and event tastings this year. No. 1 Sherry Lane was a single cask release (cask no. 023), from an ex-McWilliams apera cask of 300 litre capacity (about 80 US gallons, so technically it would have been a puncheon). The cask produced 369 bottles at 61.6% abv and the whisky is uncoloured and non-chillfiltered. This limited expression is only available from the distillery door, by online order from their website, or at event tastings. It’s a very good, hefty whisky with an individual style. The distillery character is evident throughout and the soft, fruity nature of the Scottish-inspired distillate is complimented very well by rich sherry maturation. There is a ginger note on the palate that appears in all their whisky. I bought a bottle on the night and at $229 ($190 at the event) it is not a cheap whisky, but in comparison to independent cask-strength bottlings and special CS releases (like the annual one from Diageo) it is comparable in quality, fairly priced and competitive. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)