Clarkebar
Nant Sherry Wood Single Cask Single Malt
Single Malt — Tasmania, Australia
Reviewed
February 17, 2020 (edited May 6, 2021)
Tasted in late 2017:
My next door neighbor was given a bottle of this when he and his wife were in Australia visiting family some years ago. When I retired and moved to Gettysburg and got involved with Whisky on a serious level, we would have tastings. I would bring things over like EC 18yr. and Midleton Very Rare and he would offer up his Nant Sherry Cask as a comparable precious offering.
I can say unequivocably this whisky remains the most flavor filled dram I have yet to taste. It is an absolute shame what happened with that distillery offering and the barrel fraud that followed. I would really love to know exactly what was the initial whiskey that started the whole process, as the bottle my neighbor has is the genuine article. I will have to ask for any age/barrel statement info on his bottle and provide it here.
I naturally went in search of similars from that part of the World after finding Nant would not ship to the US at that time. I found both the Oamaruvian Doublewood Cask Strength and the Dunedin Double Cask at the PLCB through Special order but neither of those has proved to be any match for the sheer deliciousness of this Nant.
The Distillery has now reformed under new ownership and naturally new product. I believe they now ship Internationally and if the S/H weren't so ridiculously high, I might be tempted to see if any of the old magic is still to be found.
As to the Whisky, it has the best fruit, floral, sweet, heat magical synthesis I have yet tasted.
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@cascode Thanks for the update. My neighbor is no longer planning a return trip due to serious Health issues. So likely I will never taste the old magic again unless it's from his now "sacred" bottle. :)
@cascode That's really disappointing. It seems too early for any Australian whiskey to already be heading downhill.
@Clarkebar I've just retasted this, from a contemporary sample, and IMO it is not as good as it used to be. While most of the distillery staff are the same the head distiller has changed post-takeover, and this seems to be reflected in the spirit.
Thanks for the 411 on that. I will pass it on to my neighbor as he is making noises about traveling back there again and would purchase for us both.
I've not tasted any of the post-restructure product myself but I'm told by reliable sources that it is much the same as the older expressions. I believe that there was reasonable continuity of staff at the distillery through the whole business failure/bankruptcy/takeover period.