DrRHCMadden
Watkins Whisky Co. Single Malt
Single Malt — Australia
Reviewed
April 8, 2023 (edited April 15, 2023)
@cascode has pulled something extra weird out of his stocks and sent me this most curious offereing. Distilled in 2011 at the Mt Uncle Distillery (Arnold Holstein pot still) from Queensland barley and matured for seven years in purpose-built hybrid casks with staves of French oak ex-red wine casks and heads taken from ex-Bourbon casks and bottled 2018. The oddness here is found in: (1) this is aged in Queensland, tropical north Australia and (2) this is, as I understand it, the first and only run of whisky they have produced. @cascode has the only other tasting for this stuff, and if you want to know more about it, go read his notes they’ll be far better than mine.
N: thick and powerful, reminiscent of the lush opulence of a well made port cask whisky. Thick with darkest toffee and caramel, dusty leather bound books, mashed banana and honey. A delicate floral note comes through if you are patient lavender or maybe just generic potpourris? Remarkably, no hint of overtaking that one might expect from seven years of tropical ageing, instead perhaps just the slightest spice note.
P: Rich and dense. Spicy oak and perfume (literally like a perfume spritz on the tongue). More oak spice as heavy all spice. Toffee and juicy banana milkshake. Red fruits of plume and red grape. This is interesting and packed with flavour, but i find it unbalanced or at least not well integrated. An early thickness and richness of flavour gives way rapidly to a thin and watery very perfume heavy late palate; is it possible for a whisky to split?
F: Medium. Refreshing with some lingering jasmine perfume and bakery spice backed by supple leather.
I honestly don’t know what to make of this. A challenging and curious whisky with some supremely delicate notes and rich depths. The balance and integration is off to me though, and that interrupts my enjoyment. The nose is great, the finish is lack lustre and the palate is like Mr Hyde dragging you deep down into the darkness where you then meet Dr Jeckyll for some light merriment.
Thanks again @cascode, you’ve challenged me more than I expected.
Distiller whisky taste #166
[Pictured here with a rock with tropical origins to match this tropical origin whisky. This rock is a picrite, a magnesium-rich olivine basalt coming from Piton de la Fournaise volcano on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. These rocks are formed as the result of rising melts passing through existing magma chambers that are filled with a slurry of olivine crystal mush. This particular picrite is up to half a million years old.]
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@cascode crikey, to generous. I fear I have exhausted all of what I have to share, my cupboard rarely exceeds 25 bottles. Everything lately has been samples from horny pony, SWM, and TWC… speaking of which I have a Bruichladdich Black Art 10.1 29yo on the way that I am far too excited about.
@DrRHCMadden Hi, no sweat - I'll put together a few whisky samples from what I have open already. Probably 5 or 6
@cascode, apparently I’m unable to actually answer questions today. I do Actually very much like rum and gin, but Drink so little as to not really get to delve in as whisky is always the preference. So appreciated, but better to save those pours for others or your self! Saying that, if you haven’t tried them, Giniversity range (Limeburners folks) are excellent, much drunk at their venue for my wedding in Margaret river. Also, the Archie Rose cask strength Gin is lovely, got my wife a bottle when I got my Malt Rye. Good sauce.
@cascode , I realise I didn’t actually answer your question! AR Malted Rye #004, I’ll happily receive IF you think it’s different enough to warrant a carefully considered taste. I have had AR MR at several bars etc and never found much notable variance. I can though imagine that early releases show that variability? I’m actually still needing to try the AR Malt Whisky. Just seen second question! Haha, my pokeno I bought in duplicate, so I’m happy to open mine anyway, second one is for saving and selling. I’ll be very surprised To be blown away. I think I’ve got about thirty samples to get through and some are in those The Whisky Co. juice bags, so probably need to breeze through those soon without distraction of more of your wares!
Afternoon good Sir, yes I have had Archie Rose Rye, I think we’ve commented on it before, it’s one of my earlier tastes on Distiller. About half way through bottle 1 with a second bottle in reserve (batch 014). Batch 004 is old (relatively) you must of picked that up pretty soon after they launched?
@DrRHCMadden I also have three of the Dewars special cask finishes to open sooner rather than later. Also, did you ever taste the Archie Rose Malted Rye whisky? I have a Batch 4 I'm opening to send samples to some other guys if you want that as well.
@DrRHCMadden Hey Doc - I'm going to open my Pokeno limited edition today and I'll pour you a sample, so hold off opening yours. Are you interested in samples of gin, rum etc as well or only whisky?
@cascode @DrRHCMadden i picked up the Thompson Saison one while I was in London some weeks back. But, generally, my experience with NZ whiskey is pretty dismal in the ones I’ve had , which were all ghosted ones. Hoping things are better with this one, since it’s a TWE pick
@PBMichiganWolverine Sorry not to answer earlier – been busy. The whisky distilling scene in New Zealand is small and the distilleries have had chequered careers. As @DrRHCMadden said, ghosts and start-ups. The ghosted stuff is generally nothing special, usually casks left over after a distillery shut down and bought up by a new distillery or broker for release. The start-ups (Thomson, Pokeno, Cardrona and Scapegrace) are all less than 10 years old and I don’t think any of them has released an age-statement whisky yet. The word seems to be that Pokeno and Cardrona are the names to watch, but I’m just repeating what I’ve heard as I’ve not tasted anything by the four new distilleries yet. I have a bottle of a Pokeno limited edition to open soon, however. No idea about that saison yeast release but I would imagine it is big and hefty.
@PBMichiganWolverine I have, to date only had one New Zealand whisky, a ghost at that. Pokeno will be my second. My understanding of Kiwi whisky is that you have ghosts and new makes. Thompson appears to fall into the new makes, so I would expect it to be youthful. Other than that, I can’t comment. @cascode, I defer to you.
@cascode I have to share my shelf space with rocks….
@cascode @DrRHCMadden i just bought a New Zealander : Thompson Saison …you guys have any views on Thompson? Sounded interesting from TWE
@DrRHCMadden The stash long ago overflowed the drink cupboards and has spread across the living room floor like a snowdrift. My dear Mrs Cascode is eternally patient and just says "Drink more, dear. That will clear some space". I suspect her motives and I seriously need to rearrange the bookshelves to find more storage.
@cascode ah so you’re the reason I couldn’t get two! Haha. Yeah, seeing one sell for $2k in Europe. Wasn’t missing that opportunity for the expense of $130 and a corner of my under stairs cupboard! I’m not sure I can reconcile the size of your stash (which must be huge) and the longevity of your liver! Hahahah. Damn, your retirement party will be one for the ages!
@DrRHCMadden Snap - I picked up that Bushmills as well. Too good an offer to miss - almost impossible to find now at a reasonable price otherwise. Investment, well I guess. I'm about to retire and plan to drink my entire stash over the next 20-30 years.
@cascode ah nice one, thank you! Yeah I got two bottles of the WC pokeno. One to stash and maybe sell if it kicks off, one to try. Managed to get one of those bus mills causeway burgundy’s too to stash for sale in future. Whisky seems to be doing better than super accounts!
@DrRHCMadden Cool. I've opened a No. 1 Sherry Lane now so I'll send you a sample of that. Is the Pokeno the higher strength one from The Whisky Club? I bought a bottle of that last month.
@cascode liquid Amber. Then I’m into five spring bays, a nant, and the new pokeno!
@DrRHCMadden Which did I send you - Liquid Amber or No. 1 Sherry Lane?
Yes, interesting typically trumps pedestrian. I cannot get over just how seperate the floral/perfume notes presented in the palate, first time I’ve experienced something so distinctively split.most remarkable though, a seven year old Aussie malt! And from QLD! Outrageous. Thanks again sir, very gladly received. Just the Amber lane from you left.
@DrRHCMadden It's an odd little dram, isn't it? Certainly not bad, but very quirky, and it was one I kept returning to frequently because it was interesting, which is always good in my book.