Tag: australian whisky

Whisky 2020 – 6-12 – Bushfire Relief Tasting

6 – Armorik 2016 Maître de chai 46%
Nose is cream, cloves and caramel. Some dust and orange zest.

Palate quite cooling initially, really sherry fino influence. Sticky cinnamon buns and salted butter.

Finish cream and herbaceous

***

7 – Overeem sherry cask OHD30 43%
Varnish and cream! Blackberries, lpg, mandarins and eggy pudding on the nose.

Palate is refreshing. Slight citrus, creme caramel,

Finish is pine and citrus cooling.

***

8 – Redlands Private Investor Cask RD208#16
Nose is wonderful friendly bananas split with chocolate. Some cream and freshly cut pine.

Palate of bananas, cream and egg whites. It’s hot and big!

Finish salt, cream, cucumbers and new make.

** (not great but glad I got to try it)

9 – Longrow 11 years by Cadenhead cask strength Port Cask 57.8%
Nose of prunes, figs, sweat, chlorine, earth, chocolate and cream

Palate of ashy stones, mango, Seville orange, rich earth. Prunes, leather, liquorice and medicinal.

The medicinal nature rings through the finish, and then some delicious caramel.

****

10 – Ardbeg Drum committee release
Nose of caramel, salt preserved lemon, sea spray, stones and paprika

Strongly tropical palate with clear pineapple, ash, salt. Great and intense minerality gives way to loads of tropical fruit and oranges.

Yoghurt, pineapple and ash.

****

11 – Laphroaig Cairdeas 2012 (18th year of Friends of Laphroaig)
Nose is quite tropical, pineapple and mango skins,

Palate is really ash and minerally, plastic, corn chips, but then kicks into clear sweetness.

Finish is cooling coals and ash. Beautiful clarity.

****

12 – Ledaig 1974 43% (bottled 1992)
Nose is chocolate pudding, old cream and smoke. Waxy, hay and stones. Coconut rough!

Palate orchard fruits apples, pears, wax. Chocolate and earthy stones.

Finish is more stones and green moss. Extremely long… more chocolate, ashy stones and finally cream. and butter.

****^

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Whisky 2019 – 61-67, Fleurieu Tasting

61 – Springbank 15 (early 2000s bottle)
Nose: Nose of a wax dipped brown banana, caramel dipped old apples, pencil shavings and a hot chocolate on a dusty shelf, hit of my mother’s apricot jam on a honey joy biscuit.

Palate: Beautiful mouth feel, cooling even. A very gentle whisky Honey, burnt rocks and old cream. Green leaves about to smoke.

Finish: Old wood, green leaf smoke and apple snow.

*****

62 – Fleurieu New Make
Nose: Apricot kernels, raw dough, apricots, raisins

Palate: Super intense fruit sugar, raisins, pastry

Finish: Gentle citrus

(No score as new make)

63 – Fleurieu Fountain of Youth 53.3%
Nose: Chestnut flower honey, rubber, salt water taffy

Palate: Raisins, old butter, golden syrup, green figs

Finish: Prunes and muscat grapes

***

64 – Fleurieu single port cask, selected by Whisky and Alement 49.7%
Nose: Super intense sweet honey and again the metallic taste of chestnut honey, white cheese mould, lemsip, grape seed

Palate: Plum cake, salt, cold butter, sweet jasmine tea

Finish: Prunes in maple syrup

Still a bit young for me

***

65 – Fleurieu Cartoon Lourve peated port and sherry cask (Not released)
Nose: Spicy rubber, honey and plums, smells very sweet

Palate: Chocolate, ash and madarin

Finish: Honeycomb and cream

****

66 – Fleurieu 7 Banger blend of 7 105L casks (Not released)
Nose: Cake, cake, cake and more cake, chocolate mousse, pepper and grape seed, cardamom

Palate: Creamy, salt, prunes, plums with a great mouthful, chalky and marshmallow, spicey cake

Finish: Salty butter, plums

***

67 – Fleurieu We’ll Always Have Paris – peated cask strength
Nose: Leaves, caramel, blue vein cheese, grapes and prunes

Palate: Burnt chocolate cake, ashy rocks, prunes, with some great mineral elements

Finish: Old leaves, prunes, grape seed

***

Whisky 2019 – 16-20 – Corowa Tasting

16 – Corowa Quick’s Courage 46% (Bourbon, PX finished)
Nose: Pineapple, green pepper, old butter, sulphur

Palate: Salty, pineapple, green vines, white wine

Finish: Salt, passionfruit

**

17 – Corowa Mad Dog Morgan 46% (Muscat cask)
Nose: raw dough, spiced sugar, dried lavender

Palate: salty, blood plum, toast with butter, Xmas spices

Finish: grapes, toasty

***

18 – Corowa Hungarian oak red wine barrel, 8 months old cask sample
Nose: light clove, orange zest, raw dough, marshmallow

Palate: juicy apricots, lamb bones, cream, passion fruit

Finish: butter, stones

***

19 – Corowa Bosque Verde 60%
Nose: stewed rhubarb, port, butter, toast, grape seeds, honey, prunes

Palate: great palate weight, toast with butter,

Finish: plums, spice, stone

***

20 – Corowa peated malt 15 months in JD cask
Nose: smoky apricots, band-aids, stony, tar, salted peanuts

Palate: blossom, floral jasmine, old campfire, butter, toasted hazelnut, caramelised apricots

Finish: salted butter, autumn leaves, burnt marshmallow

****

Whisky 2019 – 12-15 – Lark Bar, Hobart

12 – Spring Bay Bourbon Cask 2016 Cask #34
Nose: pine resin, wax, mango skin, orange zest,

Palate: Egg pudding, passion fruit, grass, white pepper, tropical, lemon

Finish: vanilla cream

***

13 – Spring Bay Sherry Cask 2016 Cask #28
Nose: maple syrup, chocolate bullets, toasted wood, butter, dates, corn chips

Palate: dusty, rhubarb crumble, brandy snaps, melted butter, dried vines

Finish: wet stones, cream, bitter herbs

***

14 – Spring Bay Port Cask 2016 Cask #54 “The Rheban”
Nose: baked plum cake warm out of the oven with cream, stewed rhubarb, vanilla sugar, almond crunch

Palate: grape sweetness, plums, plums, plums, coffee, roasted almonds, apricots

Finish: vanilla cream, pavlova, stone fruit

****

15 – Belgrove Wholly Shit Rye 57.8%
Note – this is a whisky where the rye has been “peated” by burning sheep dung. Yeah it’s pretty nuts.

Nose: Grassy, spicy, new make, cocoa powder

Palate: So intensely burnt corn (but in a good way), woody, dark chocolate, wet stones, grass

Finish: Dark chocolate, old bonfire

****

Whisky 2018 – 100-104 Thornbury Spirits Co Tasting

100 – Thornbury Spirits Co. 1st Release – Vatted Casks 17yo “The forgotten casks”
Nose – pine, rose water, metallic, apricots, marshmallow
Palate – apricots, green almonds, loads of tropical fruits, ice coffee
Finish – super creamy and salt, cold butter with salt

101 – Thornbury Spirits Co. Cask HH0363 17yo
Nose – pine resin, garden pea tart, salted lemons,
Palate – butter, cultured butter, passion fruit vine,
Finish – cream, dried apricots,

102 – Thornbury Spirits Co. HH0367 17yo
Nose – cream, plastic toys, mango, rhubarb, tropical fruits
Palate – burnt matches, salt, cocoa, cream,
Finish – stewed apricots, cream

103 – Port Charlotte 13 Years by The Whisky Find, Leroy cask finished, cask 1049 59.6%
Nose – grilled pineapple, chalk, stewed apricots, aspirin, butter, truffles, ham, dust, hair spray
Palate – vegetal, honey, cream, butter, smoked ham hock, orange zest cake
Finish – cough syrup, leather, beef jerky, instant coffee

104 – Wemyss Malt 1998 Bowmore 2017 bottled “mocha on the deck”
Nose – dark honey, brown sugar, glue and old leaves, milk chocolate mousse, candle wax, apples
Palate – rocks from a fire, autumn leaves, tarte tatin, salt, old rubber, caramel sauce, wax
Finish – wine tannins, salted caramel

Whisky 2018 – 5 – Hains & Co, Adelaide

5 – Hains & Co Living Starward Cask – Wine Cask Starward PX Barrel (staff estimate 6th batch)
Nose: banana bread, bubblegum, wood glue, crushed ants, toasted brioche with butter, banana paddlepops
Palate: really gentle, raspberries, ice tea, Christmas biscuits, spearmint gum, passion fruit vine
Finish: potato crisps, butter, wine tannins

Whisky 2017 – 225

My final dram for 2017. A beautiful peated Heartwood. Tim, you’ve excelled yourself!

225 – Heartwood Darkest before Dawn Cask LD559 Olorosso Sherry *
Brown sugar, yoghurt, cream, boozy stone fruits, dried figs, cream, tomato paste, peanut brittle. Toffee apples, dark caramel, bitter chocolate, brown sugar, pouch tobacco, strawberries and cream, fresh and dried fig, chewy and massive, beef broth, salt, gravy granules.

Whisky 2017 – 218-224 – Closed distillery tasting for The Elysian’s first birthday

218 – Dun Bheagan St Magdalene Sherry Butt 1982 27yo
Glue, mandarin, new make, leather, soap, honeycomb, watermelon. Wheat biscuits, ryvita, cream, salt, tobacco, stewed apricots.

219 – Douglas Laing Glen Mhor Hogshead Refill 1982 27yo
Lemon zest, lemon butter, loads of citrus and shortbread, wood glue, lavender soap, honey, slight flinty, white peaches. Loads of cake mix, honey suckle, fruity, stones, dust, old lace, lantana.

220 – Signatory Glenlochy 1980 30yo Cask 2824
Vanilla cake, salt, some apricots, grass, malt, kiwi fruit, cake mix, toasted almonds, orange oil. Cool ing, huge amounts of tinned fruit, cream, summer grass, tobacco, old dried pineapple, mint, menthol.

221 – G&M Dallas Dhu Bourbon 1979 34yo
Rockmelon, mushroom funk, lemon zest, slight cake. Old whisky, dust, Italian mustard fruits, salt, tobacco and cream, wax, soap.

222 – G&M Port Ellen Refill Sherry Butt 1982 28yo
Honey, salt, peat, medicinal, camp fire, ham, flinty, cream, KFC. Wonderful mouthfeel, ask, autumn leaves, charred bbq steaks, bbq bones, mandarin, chlorine, match heads.

223 – Starward New World Projects Batch 120718-12-759 for Elysian Whisky Bar 1st Birthday 100L Shiraz Cask 56.7%
Vanilla beans, honey, snickers, peanut caramel, Vietnamese coffee. Toffee bananas, bourbon, caramlized walnuts, banana cake, butter.

224 – Asta Morris for Whiskies & More Glentauchers PX Cask AM040
Caramel, caramel, caramel for days, salted butter, vine tomatoes. Salty, dusty, old apples, old rubber and sulfur, really dried apricots, flinty.

Whisky 2017 – 215-217

215 – TIB Redlands Muscat Cask TIBRD001
Lollies, raspberries, butterscotch, banana cakes, columbines, eggy, cloves, mustard. Vanilla slice, raspberry leaf tea, fruit cup cordial, slight butter and berries.

216 – Signatory Glenlivet for The Whisky Exchange 2007 10 Years Cask 900174 *
Woody, sarsaparilla, cloves, burnt strawberry jam, shaving cream, chocolate, whipped cream. Woody, massive sherry notes, red apples, cream, coffee, dried stone fruit, caramel pop corn, cold butter, watermelon, toasted brioche.

217 – Liquid Treasures Glen Garioch 24 Years 1991
Juicy, fruit, honey, maple syrup on pancakes, rose hip jam. Apricots, honey, butter, slightly coal, kiwi fruit, melons, green vines, butter and cream.

Whisky 2017 – 160-161

I got to share some drams at the (Australian only alcohol) Bad Frankie in Fitzroy with the very knowledgeable Tori Suzuki of The Mash Tun in Tokyo and Kelvin and Yao of the Elysian. 

160 – Fleurieu Distillery Rubicon
Anzac biscuits, toast with honey, dates, prunes. Honey, butter, salt, sweet tea – under done.

161 – Heartwood Epiphany at the Lakes 10 Years (Lark Port and Bourbon Cask)
Chicos, prunes, chocolates, French pastries, stewed apricot, dust. Pastries, raisins, chocolate, hazelnuts, marzipan, salted butter. Much simpler than most Heartwood but I thoroughly enjoyed it.