That Boutique-y Whisky Company "Australia" Series: Part 2 [Tasted #519 - 526]

Following on from Part 1 of our coverage of That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TWBC) Australia Series release, our Part 2 post will explore the series in a bit more detail.

The full lineup of TWBC's Australia series include 8 bottlings from distilleries that span across the mainland and Tasmania:

• Black Gate 3YO Single Malt
• Belgrove 4YO Rye
• Tin Shed 3YO Single Malt
• Fleurieu 3YO Single Malt (exclusive in Australia to The Oak Barrel)
• Killara 2YO Single Malt 
• Riverbourne 3YO Single Malt
• Starward 3YO Single Malt
• Bakery Hill 5YO Single Malt

The series sees bottlings from a collection of highly sought after, small-batch craft distilleries, many of which have not previously been available outside of Australia. Amongst this is Belgrove, a farm-to-glass distillery run by Peter Bignell, one of the most known and loved Distillers in Australia. Peter has been known for his unconventional equipment and techniques and is dubbed the 'Mad Scientist.' Peter's Belgrove Rye is renowned internationally due to the use of his own rye to craft his whisky.

Alongside Belgrove, the release also includes bottlings from Starward (whose presence has graced markets in the UK and US, Black Gate (whose total annual output is just 3000L) and Killara, founded by Kristy Lark-Booth - daughter of Bill Lark aka the ‘godfather’ of Australian whisky. Although Kristy has grown up around whisky, she originally wanted to be an Air Traffic Controller. The TBWC Killara label has her overseeing airspace that is filled with flying copper pot stills - an acknowledgment to her dedication to controlling the distillation process.

There is also bottling from Fleurie, a South Australian distillery run by ex-brewers Angela and Gareth Andrews whose site is famously an old train shed site and feature on the TBWC label. Angela and Gareth also took the pleasure to re-create the label by wearing the same outfit as the label during the Oak Barrel launch of the series. Fleurieu is also known for their copper pot stills which are modelled on those at Islay Distillery, Caol Ila and their super long (8 days) fermentation. 

The series also features bottlings from Tin Shed, Riverbourne and Bakery Hill. The Tin Shed release is particularly interesting given the use of ex-tawny port and ex-Pinot Gris casks. Tin Shed started producing in 2013 and is known for occasionally smoking their barley with mallee root, the root of a dwarf Australian eucalyptus tree.

The release from Riverbourne is also fairly unique with the use of re-charred ex-Australian wine casks. Another fun fact, Riverbourne is run by Australia's oldest distiller, Martin Pye whose root is actually in pharmacy with Martin being a third-generation pharmacist. He has been known to use a wide range of yeast strains and re-charred ex-wine casks for maturing the Riverbourne spirit.

Then there's Bakery Hill. Headed by David Baker, an ex-High School chemistry teacher who first built his still in an industrial unit in Bayswater Victoria in 1999. The label on the TWBC Bakery Hill bottling down right paints his earlier years, 'Breaking Bad' style - though no blue ice involved, only whisky. The label shows founder David Baker and his son Andrew in hazmat suit packing their Winnabago full of casks. Classic.

I sat down with each of the bottlings and here's my take on the series. My personal favourites included the Black Gate 3yo, the Belgrove Rye as well as the Killara 2yo.

Black Gate 3 Year Old (46%, 3yo, New South Wales, Australia, A$255) One of my favourite from the series. The nose is very floral, there are fruity hints, specifically stone fruits, peaches and green apples. There is vanilla. The nose reminds you of springtimes. The palate on the other hand adds a level of punch firstly with tar and soot which then mellows out to vanilla and creamy soda. There is that creme brulee or lemon tart that then develops into hot white pepper notes. The spices remain on the palate for some time.

Belgrove 4 Year Old Rye  (49.8%,  4yo, Tasmania, Australia, A$299) The nose is interesting and filled with agave (tequila?), it is nutty and there are peppermint notes and a whiff of light smoke. The palate begins with char, tar and lots of soot. It's very earthy. Once the big initial notes fizzle out, you get peanut brittle that's served with some spices, chilly, that agave returns and there is that smoke again. The finish is dry yet the smoke lingers and remains for some time.

Tin Shed 3 Year Old (48%, 3yo, South Australia, Australia, A$215)  Interesting mix with a combination of ex-Tawny and ex-Pinot Gris cask. Very musky nose with glazed bacon with an added maple syrup. It's rather stocky, meaty, bbq meat, there's a hint of smoke with some mild chilli. The palate is rather complex. Soft at first, with a gradual build-up of spice, caramel and bacon developing into a soft mushy pear. The finish is quite a bit of tannin, mild, heat and stays for some time.

Fleurieu 3 Year Old (49.5%, 3yo, Goolwa, South Australia, $190) (exclusive in Australia to The Oak Barrel) The nose is pungent, old linen, biscuits, pecan pie, honey, flour, caramel. The palate is creamy, gentle at start, spiced, chilli, pumpkin pie, more vanilla, salted caramel, chilli chocolate. The finish is full of spices mixed with chocolate and caramel, a tart finish and spice remnants.

Killara 2 Year Old (49%, 2yo, Tasmania, Australia, A$375) the nose is sweet with loads of gummy berries, vanilla, maple syrup on waffles, fruit tingles. The nose is fun and surprising given the relatively young age of the spirit. The palate is chalky at first which is then followed by some berries (raspberries), mango, and strawberry, some citrus/lemon notes and hints of black pepper. I must say, the palate is rather delicious and fruity, very balanced. The sweetness and tartiness linger for a while.

Riverbourne 3 Year Old (50%, New South Wales, Australia, A$239) Allspice hits the nose, there is heat, a hint of cinnamon and the heat keeps rising, chilli or perhaps chilli chocolate. There's oak and honey though plenty of spearmint and tannin. That heat continues but fizzles out after a while. Unique profile that may please traditional Riverbourne fans though might be different for some.

Starward 3 Year Old (56%, 3yo, Victoria, Australia, A$179) The Starward profile is clearly there on the nose with loads of gummy bear lollies, banana, raisins, dried fruits, apricot, nectarines. Very fruity at first and followed by cinnamon chai and caramelised sugar.      Those sweet lollies are ever-present again. Though there is also some salt and spice; salted caramel. The sweetness continues and the cinnamon spice grips. Very mouthful and settle into some citrus and oranges (naval) notes. The finish is gingery, the spice remains and fizzle out into spearmint after taste.

Bakery Hill 5 Year Old (50%, 5yo, Victoria, Australia, A$299) The nose is musky with oak remnants, some vanilla, leather. There is cherry ripe mixed with some spearmint. The palate is very gentle, soft and filled with oat biscuit, creamy marshmallow and there is a gentle nutmeg spice on the back of the palate. The spearmint lingers on the palate and slowly fizzle out.

The Australian Series is an extremely exciting set and so much so that the majority of the bottlings have been sold out. The Oak Barrels in Sydney as well as few select retailers in Australia still have limited stocks on some of the bottlings - so do get them while it lasts.

Cheers
Hendy

That Boutique-y Whisky Company "Australia" Series: Part 1

Indie bottler That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC) has been renowned for not only bottling malt from brands and distillers around the world but also for its fun and novel-style labels. They have set out to bring great whisky in a fun, colourful and informative way with no nonsense. They've been able to bottle over 100 different bottlings and a variety of fans far and wide with whiskies from the likes of Ardbeg, Paul John, Overeem and even the elusive Karuizawa.

Locally, TBWC worked with Overeem just as the Australian whisky industry was growing, around the time when Overeem started to push into the UK market in 2014. With the continued growth of the Australian boutique malt whisky industry over the years, TBWC saw an opportunity to bring more Australian whiskies abroad through a new whisky series.

The new series dubbed 'The Australia Series' follows TBWC's World Series and World Rye Series and present the best of Australian whiskies including whiskies from Starward, Black Gate, Tin Shed and Fleurieu. 

What's exciting is that the range in the series showcases a wide variety of flavour differences created by the different whisky producers from across Australia. This is an exciting prospect as the new series will undoubtedly help to bring more Australian whiskies into the international whisky community.

I will do a two-part post to cover this series with this post providing an overview of the Australia series as well as sharing some insights from Atom Brands Head of Whisky and friend of this blog, Sam 'Dr Whisky' Simmons followed by another post where I'll share my thought on the series and some backstories on the local producers.

The full line up of the Australia series include:

• Black Gate 3YO Single Malt - $255.00
• Belgrove 4YO Rye - $299.00
• Tin Shed 3YO Single Malt - $215.00
• Fleurieu 3YO Single Malt - $190.00 (exclusive in Australia to The Oak Barrel)
• Killara 2YO Single Malt - $375.00
• Riverbourne 3YO Single Malt - $239.00
• Starward 3YO Single Malt - $179.00
• Bakery Hill 5YO Single Malt - $299.00

Sam Simmons summed it up well when he said "Take note of these distillery names, it may be the first time you’ve heard some of them (certainly if you're not from Australian Shores), but it will not be the last." That's likely not far from the truth given most of these labels will be foreign for people abroad who may only have heard or sampled whiskies from one or two Australian distillers.

Sam also added... “While I think it’s fair to say that most of the world is just waking up to the fact that Australian whisky is on the map at all, I would dare say that these whiskies, and the future of whiskies from down under, may turn the world upside down. Literally flipping the hegemonic order on its head, with Australia at the top of the pile in the 21st century.”

The series will see bottlings from a collection of highly sought after, small-batch craft distilleries, many of which have not previously been available outside of Australia. Included amongst this list is Belgrove, a farm-to-glass distillery run by Peter Bignell, one of the most known and loved faces in Australian whisky."

As part of this post, I put out five questions to Sam earlier this week to get a bit more on the series and here's what he's got to say:

1. Favourite part of your journey to put together this new TBWC Australia series?

Well, my colleague Felix Dear had the joy of travelling around Australia staying with distillers and coming home with casks, poor bastard.

And I was on the World Whiskies Awards (WWA) judging panel for the famed 2014 award for Sullivans Cove, however, I didn't actually vote for that winner...

So for me, I think it began when I was in Australia in 2013 and 2016 with Balvenie. My visits were only a few years apart but there was a marked increase in available domestic whisky, there were more people I met asking "have you tried..." (so I did), and what I tried was for the most part incredibly tasty. 

It was on one of those trips that David Vitale described Australian regulations (since 1992, anyways) as being "so forgiving you could blow a cannonball through them", and they are. So that moment when what was in my glass was world-class AND I was being told that the possibilities are as wide as the distillers' imaginations, I thought "fuck yes; THIS is exciting".

2. In your experience are there any differences in how whisky drinkers differ in how they enjoy their whisky from different regions? What can people from perhaps Australia, Asia, UK expect from this new Australia series?

This is a great question as, let's remember, most of the world drinks their whisky mixed with ice, soda, cola, ginger ale, green tea, coconut water etc, but for most "new world" distilleries, the intention is to be sipped and enjoyed like a fine cognac or single malt scotch. 

These Australian bottlings are no different, as many Boutique-y drinkers around the world may have never had an Australian whisky before let alone a Fleurieu or Tin Shed.

3. What's the one (or two) whiskies out of this series that has really surprised you - either in a good way or in a somewhat interesting way?

For me, the standouts were the Black Gate ex-apera and the Tin Shed pinot gris cask. I've never tasted anything like them, and I've never liked anything that tasted like them. Whiskies whose magic you immediately want to share with someone, "you gotta try this"

4. The labels on these bottles all look fun (as with all TBWC bottles), any particular favourite from the set?

The Belgrove is just perfect, but I also really like Black Gate's colour palate/mood and Bakery Hill's fun. Emily Chappell is an incredible visual storyteller and is the Glaswegian artist behind all the labels.

5. Lastly, what's the one whisky trend you think will continue to grow in 2021? (e.g. will we see more craft distilleries flourish, growth in independent labels, rum starting to take over whiskies?)

It pains me to say it, and it may only be a dip, but the trend of declining Scotch whisky may pick up speed in 2021.

For now, the Australia series will launch today across Australia as well as abroad and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on the series in the next post.

Cheers
Hendy

Tasted #378 - 379: Belgrove Peated Rye and Belgrove Oat Whisky

Almost four years ago, I posted our first Belgrove post - tasting an experimental "Oat" with an Oat-led, four-grain mashbill. The distillery excited me then, and continues to excite me now, as owner Peter Bignell continues to innovate and produce whisky in his own unique way, putting out some truly fantastic products.

Based in Tasmania, the distillery came about when Peter (a sixth-generation farmer) had some excess rye and decided to use it to make whisky. In addition to growing his own rye, building his own copper pot still and peating the rye using a self-converted washing machine(!), Peter also runs the operation on biodiesel he makes from cooking oil, harvests brewing and diluting water from his roofs, and collects cooling water from his own dam.

Call it "closed loop", "green", "sustainable" or whatever buzzword you like, put simply here's a bloke making whisky like no-one else in Australia, and doing a bloody good job of it.

Peter was kind enough to send me few samples recently - of his "Oat Whisky" (@ 58.6% ABV) and a cask sample of his Peated Rye whisky (at a hefty 65.1% ABV).


Belgrove "Oat Whisky" (58.6% ABV, NAS, Tasmania, Australia, $250AUD)

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Colour: Light yellow-gold.

Nose: A little bit muted at first, but after time, creamy, tropical fruit notes emerge - pear, pineapple and a big dollop of cream.

Palate: Hugely nutty! Very unexpected. Macadamia nuts and walnuts. Oily mouthfeel. There's some creamy caramel, and lots of milk chocolate-coated Macadamia nuts. With water there's a little more fruit - pears and a hint of strawberry, but the nutty notes definitely dominate, which is unusual, unexpected and very enjoyable.

Finish: Long and full of macadamia, with some hints of oak and pepper at the back of the palate.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  90/100. I love an "unusual" whisky, provided it also noses and tastes good. This ticks all those boxes and more.

Belgrove "Peated Rye" Whisky cask sample (65.1% ABV, NAS, Tasmania, Australia, cask sample not available for sale, although when available the Peated Rye is $250AUD)

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Colour: Light orange-gold.

Nose: There's smoke, but it's not coastal or medicinal - it's meaty and BBQ-like. Reminds me of a BBQ'd steak topped with tangy BBQ sauce. With time there's a bit of milk chocolate too.

Palate: Salami drizzled with honey. Lots of honey in fact. Then some charred capsicum, and with water some burnt snags (sausages). Sunday arvo BBQ in a glass?

Finish: Long and campfire-smokey.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  91/100. Not your usual peated whisky, and all the better for it.


It's great to see Peter and his team continuing to do things "their own way", with such impressive results. I've noticed Peter has recently started providing regular updates via his Facebook page too - well worth a follow if this sort of thing interests you like it does me.

Cheers,
Martin.

This Week in Whisk(e)y #10

As you might know if you read this blog regularly, we get a fair few interesting press releases and news articles here at TimeforWhisky, and usually try to feature them with our own spin, experiences or comments. Sometimes though, they come thick and fast, and we just don't have time to do them all justice. Sometimes we also hear of newsworthy items that don't necessarily come via a press release, but that we think you'll want to know regardless...

So we've decided to take a leaf out of some other excellent whisky blogs, and feature a "PR roundup" every now and then - basically a wrap-up of relevant press releases we've received in the previous week (or other interesting whisk(e)y news Steph & I think you might enjoy). So on with it then...

Oak Barrel Whisky Fair 2014 - tickets running out
In our opinion, this is the best whisky show in Australia. Held on 13th September, The Oak Barrel are again throwing open their doors to offer an afternoon of drams, many of which you'll likely never see at another Australian whisky show. So what's on offer? As well as many of the usual suspects, you can expect:

• An exclusive single cask bottling of Glenfarclas, hand selected by George Grant
• An exclusive  Sullivans Cove, finished in a 20L port cask
• Ground breaking International and Australian micro distilleries including Koval, Belgrove, Mount Uncle and William McHenry
• Fantastic array of Independent bottlings including Adelphi, Gordon & MacPhail and Berry Brothers & Rudd

Tickets (now limited to members only due to overwhelming demand) can be found here:
http://www.whiskyfair.com.au/


Old Pulteney Clipper Comemorative Bottling
We've tasted (and enjoyed) a few Old Pulteneys on the site before, and also referred to the Clipper Race in which Old Pulteney play a large part.

Some quick background:

"Old Pulteney – The Maritime Malt – celebrates the completion of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2014 by the crew of brave men and women on board a yacht named after the iconic Single Malt Scotch Whisky. The race started eleven months ago and saw the Old Pulteney rose of winds carried proudly to France, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, China, United States of America, Panama, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, The Netherlands and back to the starting point in London, UK."

So that's the race, but what of the whisky?

"To mark the occasion Old Pulteney will release a special commemorative bottling of its whisky. Old Pulteney Clipper will be made available in July 2014 at select retailers world-wide. The limited release will feature a Clipper Round the World Yacht Race -themed packaging and the whisky itself will be a classic expression of Old Pulteney, matured in both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. The whisky will be presented at its natural colour, non chill-filtered and at a premium strength of 46% ABV. Only 2,700 cases of this rare bottling will ever be released and the recommended retail price in the UK is £50. 

The appearance of the whisky is that of polished gold. On the nose the sweetness of dried fruits and crispiness of green apples is accompanied by notes of fresh vanilla and white chocolate. On the palate waves of honey and orange zest, a rounded oaky structure and an unmistakable coastal note set this fresh and elegant Old Pulteney apart. The finish is smooth and long-lasting."

No word on Australia releases or pricing, but a NCF, 46% ABV limited release for 50gbp isn't value at all (and it looks pretty impressive too). One to look out for perhaps if travelling through the UK.

island2island whiskies perform at Scotch Whisky Masters

On the topic of Old Pulteney, island2island, who distribute Old Pulteney (and other) brands in Australia have had an impressive run at the 2014 Scotch Whisky Masters, winning 6 awards across 5 categories, including "Master" award for Deanston Highland Single Malt 12yo and "Gold" for Ledaig Single Malt 10yo (which, from personal experience is a great drop) and Bunnahabhain 25yo (which whilst I haven't yet had the pleasure, I'm sure is also a great drop!)


Sullivans Cove Whisky Dinner in Sydney
No doubt still riding high from their amazing success of late, Tasmania's Tasmania Distillery are holding a special whisky dinner at Hilton Sydney's Glass Brasserie on Tuesday the 5th of August. Starting at 6:30pm, a 5-course degustation dinner will be served, hosted by Bert Cason, who will be flying up from the distillery in Tasmania especially for the event:

"The dinner features 5 courses, matched with Sullivans Cove's whiskies and single malt liqueurs, including the world's best single malt, Sullivans Cove French Oak. Tickets are 140pp. Please contact Therese Grasa therese.grasa@hilton.com"

Cheers, 
- Martin.

Tasted #64: Belgrove Distillery "Oats"

Late last year the kind folks from Melbourne's excellent Whisky bar Whisky + Alement sent me a sample of a very unusual whisky, which they'd picked up from their visit to Tasmania's Belgrove Distillery. We've featured the distillery on this blog previously, and commented on how owner/distillery Peter Bignell is doing some pretty interesting things down there. A perfect example of which is this "Oats" or "Four Grain" sample.

The sample arrived without much in the way of detail, but W+A sent me Peter's e-mail address and Peter quickly responded with everything I wanted to know and more. In a nutshell, the whisky is an experimental release (love 'em!) and is made up of about 65% oats, milled with the husks retained. The remainder is made up of 10% rye, 10% wheat and 15% malted barley.

The whisky's ABV sits at around 57.5% and was aged in a 50L American oak cask (4th refill, no re-charring or re-finishing) for 18 months.

Interesting, to say the least.

Belgrove "Oats" / "Four Grain" (~57.5% ABV, NAS, Tasmania Australia, not for sale - experimental sample only)
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Colour: Pale straw.

Nose: Young, but rich and fruity. Fruity like a lolly shop actually. Also hints of breakfast oats/porridge. Pretty complex really.

Palate: Rich and oily - quickly coats the mouth. Smooth throughout, it has strong taste of oatmeal (funny that). None of the fruitiness seems to carry through from the nose.

Finish: Short to medium, with oatmeal / shortcake notes at the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. Reminds me a little of Balcones Baby Blue (another young whisky). Unusual, but enjoyable.

No word yet on if we'll see this as an actual Belgrove release, but I think it'd be safe to say that Peter won't stop experimenting (which is a bloody good thing!)

Cheers,
 - Martin.

The Whisky Fair Sydney 2013 review (#101drams)

In Sydney each year we have three main whisky shows - The Whisky Show (July), Whisky Live (August), and The Whisky Fair (September). In 2012 Steph and I attended the first two, but for some reason missed out on The Whisky Fair (perhaps we thought two was enough? Crazy talk...) This year we righted that wrong.

Whereas Whisky Live is mainly about readily-available whiskies, aimed not necessarily at the whisky enthusiast, and The Whisky Show is a mix of enthusiast drams and readily available whiskies, The Whisky Fair is very much aimed at real whisky enthusiasts, with plenty of drams you won't see anywhere else. While the show does include plenty of well-known distilleries, the drams they offer are typically from the upper end of the portfolio - e.g. William Grant & Sons were offering The Balvenie 17yo Double Wood, Glenfarclas were tasting the 40yo, Pernod Ricard had a wide selection from their portfolio, including Longmorn and the excellent The Glenlivet Nadurra, and Think Spirits were offering The Dalmore King Alexander III.

But while those are all excellent whiskies, it was the rarer, more "boutique" drams I was really excited to try - and the The Oak Barrel didn't disappoint, with their cavernous CBD store occupied by the likes of the Balcones (will the popularity of this Texan distillery ever stop growing?), FEW Spirits, masters of experiment Koval, Belgrove (making its aged Rye debut), and Australian independent bottler Heartwood, with their incredible 72.5% "The Convict Redemption". Not to mention an Overeem bottled especially for the fair, thrown in for good measure.


With so many drams on offer it was hard to know where to start, so first order of business was to get around and say hi (over a dram or two) to all the friends Time for Whisky has made over the past year.

Whilst there genuinely wasn't a bad dram in sight, it's pretty hard to list every one we tried, so in no particular order, these were the more unique, interesting, quirky, or downright fantastic drams we enjoyed:

• Belgrove - I'd read a bit about Belgrove and was genuinely keen to try it. Peter Bignell (distiller and owner) talked us through his Tasmanian Rye - made via a real self-contained production process, with the ryecorn home-grown on his farm, the pot still built from scratch, heating from home-made biodiesel and cooling from his own dam! Both unaged and (minimum) 2 year barrel aged varieties were on tasting, and both were very impressive. One to watch.
• Balcones - I'd tried the Baby Blue Corn Whisky earlier and was keen to try the rest of the range. Luckily H&R Craft Beverages were at the show, with not only the Texas Single Malt (a #101drams whisky) and Baby Blue, but also the True Blue 100 proof and Brimstone. A quick taste of each confirmed what I'd suspected - that the Baby Blue wasn't just a fluke - all Balcones' whiskies are fantastic.
• Heartwood, along with Belgrove, was the other Tassie entrant I was particularly keen to visit. (To my knowledge) the only Australian independent bottler of Australian whisky, Heartwood bottle a range of Aussie whiskies, at cask strength, and sell them in 500mL format with names such as "Vat out of Hell", "Release the Beast" and "Velvet Hammer". But it was their 72.5% "The Convict Redemption" that stole the show. Tim (owner and Lark Distillery board member) was passing around drams to comments such as "wow", "full bodied" and "flavoursome" - presumably mostly from people who didn't realise they'd just tried a 72.5% ABV whisky. That's how smooth this whisky really is. Steph tried it, and (no stranger to cask strength whiskies, having recently gotten into SMWS bottlings) guessed it to be around 55-60%. A stunner.
• Limeburners Single Malt West Australian-whisky (another #101drams whisky)
• Overeem - a Tassie favourite of mine, with 200mL bottlings of their Oak Barrel exclusive cask for only $44. We're big fans of the Port cask Overeem (and also the Sherry), and can't wait for their next release.
• Brown Forman were again on hand, this time with the most impressive stand they've had in a long time. Sure Woodford Reserve and Jack (Unaged Rye) were there, but so were some of the rarer Woodford Master's Collection (including the Four Wood). As if the stand wasn't packed enough, brand ambassador Stuart had also managed to whip up a batch of barrel aged Old Fashioneds!

  

...hold up - 6 distilleries/whiskies mentioned, and not one of them Scottish? Such is the quality of world whisky I guess! But on the topic of Scotland, half-way through the show a bagpipe procession formed, and James Buntin of William Grant & Sons (a.k.a The Whisky Ambassador) prepared the highlight of the show - fresh haggis, served with neeps and tatties, and a Glenfiddich 14yo Rich Oak.

After a quick haggis break, it was onto all things Scottish:

• While I'd tried The Balvenie 17yo Double Wood before, I'd never tried it injected into a chocolate truffle. An amazing match.
• Innis & Gunn beer. Beer? Well all whisky is basically beer at some stage in its life, right? This Edinburgh-based brewery had a few varieties on tasting, but it was their 6.6% ABV "Original" that really impressed me. Aged for 77 days in American Oak, it was honied, smooth and perfectly balanced. Couldn't leave without buying a few bottles!
• Dalmore King Alexander III - a brilliant (#101drams) dram, complete with impressive artwork (below). Who knew the Think Spirits guys had so much talent?
• Macallan - the full 1824 Series was on tasting, ahead of its November release in Australia. The Sienna was Steph and my pick of the bunch.
• Scotch Malt Whisky Society - it wouldn't be an enthusiasts' whisky show without SMWS! Andrew (NSW Ambassador, Director and Australian Cellarmaster) and Murray (Australian tasting panel member and super friendly bloke) were busily handing out drams and converting people to the joys of single cask, cask strength whisky. On taste were a number of gems, including the incredibly light but flavoursome 21.27 (39yo Glenglassaugh), a sublime lightly-peated Ardmore (which was recommended to me by one of the other stalls) and a Craigellachie which I sadly missed (of particular note as they don't even bottle this as an OB Single Malt!).

 

It was hard to believe 4 hours had passed so quickly, but sadly it had, and on that note we said our farewells and walked out into the unusually hot Sydney September. If we can only attend one whisky show next year, this will be it without a doubt. Congrats to Dave and the guys from The Oak Barrel for putting on such a fantastic show.

Cheers,
Martin.

Time for Whisky attended as guests of The Oak Barrel.