Tasted #709: Archie Rose "Smoked Cask Series" Cinnamon Smoked Single Malt Whisky

One of the many great things about the Aussie whisky industry is the freedom afforded to (and actively embraced by) its producers. Whilst there are rules, they're less restrictive than (say for example) SWA's rules for Scotch Malt Whisky, and so you tend to find some pretty fun and interesting releases - whiskies matured in woods other than oak, whiskies finished in a plethora of interesting cask types (Ginger Beer Cask, anyone?), and in this case, whisky matured in casks which themselves have been smoked with different botannicals.

"Smoked Cask Series" is the name, and as Archie Rose Master Distiller Dave Withers puts it:

“In Australia, we’re fortunate to be unbound by tradition, which gives us the freedom to be bold and find our own new ways of doing things. With that in mind, this series is all about reimagining what a smoked whisky can be; questioning why the flavour of smoke can only come from the treatment of grains.

We wanted to tackle the question of whether we could bring a different dimension to our whisky by smoking the maturation casks, instead of the grains,” Dave says. “It’s also about testing the boundaries of where that smoke comes from. Conventional smoky whiskies are always made with peat or sometimes timber smoke, but here we have shown that a different set of flavours can be created through the use of aromatic botanicals like the ones we’ve used for this series"

For the series, 4 botanicals (Wattleseed, Juniper, Cinnamon and Lavender) were chosen after 30 different trials. I sat down with “Cinnamon Smoked” (Limited Release No.15) recently, to see what impact this unique form of smoking had on the whisky.

Archie Rose "Smoked Cask Series" Cinnamon Smoke (51.6% ABV, NAS, Sydney, Australia, One of 495 bottles, sold out)

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Colour: Deep toffee brown

Nose: Smoked pineapple, toasted oak, orange zest and hints of charred banana.

Palate: Brings the pineapple from the nose, but more whole oranges than orange zest. Spicy smoke undertones, with some very subtle cinnamon notes.

Finish: Long, warming toasted oak.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100 (Martin). I like Archie Rose's regular single malt spirit, and this is a really fun and tasty twist on it - pairing some of those expected tropical notes with a warming, spicy undertones. This would be great by a fire, as we're getting into winter (shame it's sold out)!

Thanks Mint Partners and Archie Rose for the bottle.


Cheers,
Martin.

Old Master Spirits' A.100 Famille Cabanne Grande Champagne Cognac - 100 Years in Oak! [Tasted #708]

It's been a little while since I've tasted an Old Master Spirits release for the blog, but as a quick refresher for those unfamiliar, OMS was founded by Melbournites Deni Kay and David Vuu to "find liquid treasures from across the globe with a focus on provenance and bottling spirits in their most natural form". Think small, family-run houses, single barrel / limited releases, quality spirit and great value.

5 years on (time flies), David and Deni are celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Old Master Spirits with what can only be described as an incredibly fitting release - a Cognac that's been aged for 100 years in French Oak!

The release in question is the Old Master Spirits A.100 Famille Cabanne 100 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac, and there'll be only 42 bottles available (actually, 41 now as Deni recently opened one).

Distilled in the early 1920s by the Cabanne family in the village of Bourg-Charente, this eau de vie was produced on lees, over direct fire, in a still that's long since been decommissioned (though it still sits at the Cabanne distillery as a heritage piece). It then slumbered for a full century in refill "Seguin Moreau" coarse-grained French oak barrels (themselves ~15 years old when filled), before being bottled in November 2025 at a natural cask strength of 46.6% ABV.

Famille Cabanne itself is a name I wasn't familiar with, but the story goes back to 1810 when Monsieur Francois Cabanne first settled on the banks of the river Charente. Over 200 years and four generations later, the house remains family-owned (as do most of the houses Old Master Spirits work with), with 74 hectares of vines and - incredibly - current stock holdings featuring cognacs dating back to the early 1800s! 

(You can read my thoughts on several of Old Master Spirits' previous releases here — including their Tiffon V.45 Petite Champagne Cognac, previously the oldest spirit independently bottled for Australia)

Made from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes and sitting firmly in the Grande Champagne cru, this release ticks the type of boxes you (or at least I) want in serious old Cognac: natural strength, unfiltered, single estate. 

When you consider that no commercially-available whisky has ever reached 100 years of age (and many of them in the 50+ age bracket require a mortgage), $1,399 AUD for a 100-year-old single-estate Grande Champagne Cognac at cask strength, bottled exclusively for Australia, seems a remarkably fair price

As mentioned, there are just 42 41 bottles in existence, officially launching on 30th April (with 24-hour early access via the OMS mailing list from the 29th). 

...but of course, age, exclusivity, provenance are one thing, but taste is another. Does it live up to expectations? Read on for my thoughts...

Old Master Spirits A.100 Famille Cabanne 100 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac (46.6% ABV, 100yo, Cask Strength, France, One of 42 bottles, $1,399 AUD)

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Colour: Deep dark rich copper (but the first thing you notice is the viscosity - this thing is THICK)

Nose: Immediately jumps out of the glass, with intense prunes, dates, coffee, sweet apricot and mango. I tasted it twice (about a week apart) to see how it evolved with a bit of air in the sample bottle, and the second tasting brought more tropical notes, with the mango stronger on the nose for me.

Palate: All the notes from the nose, but with additional notes of milk chocolate, orange, more mango, peach, cherries. It's super viscous, and feels more flavoursome than 46%, but at the same time incredibly elegant and refined. These are BIG, but very elegant flavours.

Finish: Long, warming, fruity coffee (think Ethiopian Yirgacheffe-like coffee notes), 

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 94/100 (Martin). Honestly, an incredible spirit, genuinely one of the best Cognacs I've ever had.

Thanks Deni & David for the sample.

Cheers,
Martin.