DrRHCMadden
Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky
Other Whiskey — New South Wales, Australia
Reviewed
July 29, 2022 (edited November 22, 2022)
The Sydney Sandstone is the common name for the Sydney Basin Hawkesbury Sandstone… one particular variety is historically, locally, known as ‘yellow gold’. I find it particularly fitting that the team at Archie Rose in Sydney have produced a liquid gold from what I assume is locally drawn water that in all likelihood would have filtered (at some point) through the Hawkesbury Sandstone. Yellow gold makes liquid gold. For all you geology fans out there, the rock pictured here is Hawkesbury Sandstone, famous as a landform defining, building creating, natural work of art stretching back in time some 247 million years to the ancient rivers that deposited it. I don’t know what effect the geology has on the Archie Rose water source but these rocks are porous natural filters with small amounts of iron carbonate and clays, that surely must impart something of note to what is considered one of the best rye whisky’s in the world.
N: Apricot, vanilla, oakiness, a little honey. There is a brilliant herbal spice note through everything, I’m torn between fennel and thyme to put my finger on it. It does have a strong almost menthol or peppermint quality to the way it fills and clears the sinuses.
P: Star anise, soft cinnamon and ginger with lashings of butter and creamy peaches. Both bright and refreshing whilst also warming and deep. Desert like vanilla custard.
F: Long and delicately balanced with ginger and star anise, a walnut like oiliness. Sweet desert palate dries out to a fruity almost perfumed final note.
The more whisky I try the more I find myself wanting to discover nuance, uniqueness and impactful bottles that offer a story or allow deep contemplation of the world; as wanky as that may be. I’ve also found that whisky awards, accolades and the endless opinions that describe a whisky as ’smooth’ or worse still ‘smoooooooth’ are just not to be trusted and are possibly just full of BS. I don’t know a lot about rye, I think I can count on one hand with fingers to spare the ryes I have tried, but my word this is something special. The list of ‘worlds best’ is almost ridiculous but this IS probably, deserving of the highest praise. Here is a whisky that was truly unexpected. It has a depth of character that is remarkable, nuanced and delicate; yet deep, thick, and seriously moreish. I am not contemplating the depths of deep time or the worlds greatest mysteries, but I am wondering why this is not impossible to get a hold of, and how it only costs $120 for what is probably the best rye whisky in the world.
For what ever this mere amateurs opinion is worth; go out and find this to try. Archi Rose Malted Rye is anything but ‘smooooooooth’ but it is an awesome winning powerhouse that has to be tasted.
Batch No. 13
Bottle 1148/3000
Distiller whisky taste #58
120.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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@PBMichiganWolverine young, but Australian climate ages things much faster remember. If you don’t love it, I’ll eat my words. But, enjoy. So good.
@DrRHCMadden @cascode i just found a bottle of this, all the way here in US. Pricey for a young rye, but so looking forward to it
@cascode I fear my PhD, post docs and lectureship in geology will not put me in good stead. Funnily enough, it is most common in my American Oak Limeburners. I will ask one of the organic chemists at work if they have any insight… for now, turning the bottle to remix and accidentally letting a dram fall into my glass will have to suffice :D
It is an interesting phenomenon, I’ve seen this occasionally and there is no discernable pattern, although I think it may be more frequent in opened bottles. A marginally loose cork could be another factor, or the ambient humidity on the day a bottle was last opened (and so the extra humidity introduced into the bottle). When I see this I give the bottle a shake and it just goes away and does not repeat, so I think it’s merely an occasional freak occurrence of no import. Rabbit hole is right – you probably need higher degrees in chemical engineering, fluid dynamics, materials science and organic chemistry to propose a reasonable answer ... or alternatively have 50 years experience in a warehouse.
Aus bottles spread across different shelves, and no seeming abv control either which makes me think there must be a difference in the conductivity of Aus glass! I feel like I could end up going down a rabbit hole on this one!
@DrRHCMadden First, it’s nothing to worry about, just condensation due to temperature differences between the whisky and the outside temperature. You probably see this more after a few days of stable temperatures followed by a very hot day. Regional differences should have nothing to do with this but alcohol proof might - do all your affected bottles have higher proof? Also the thickness of the glass and its mineral content could be a factor, so maybe it’s due to Aussie glass? Are all the affected bottles all on the same shelf? The relative temperature at different heights in the room could be a factor.
@cascode cheers wise one! Here’s a question for you. Of the meagre 20 so bottles in my cabinet, all of my Australian ones seem to have condensation on the inside neck and shoulders of the bottles. My other Scottish/Japanese/Irish offerings do not. Do you know of any of the underlying chemistry between regions that causes this?
Nailed it (and another great photo, too) 👍