A Merry Christmas Whisky for only $99 from one of Australia’s legendary, award-winning distilleries? Santa, Iniquity and the Single Malt Whisky Club deliver! The perfect whisky for a hot Aussie Christmas, the latest in the much applauded and awarded Tin Shed Distillery ‘Anomaly’ Series – the Iniquity Lazy Daze.
The Lazy Daze is matured in a first fill Heavens Hill ex-bourbon cask (78%) – tweaked with some shiraz (15%), tawny (3.5%) and apera (3.5%) barrels. It has been bottled at 40%ABV in order to be easy to drink yet still pack a flavour wallop! It’s sweet and fruity with next to no heat on the palate yet packs a big chewy finish. Even though it’s only packing 40%ABV, this whisky is definitely no lightweight. It’s got huge depth of flavour, big mouthfeel and …oh, did we mention it’s under a hundred bucks… in a 700ml bottle?!?!?
INIQUITY /i-‘ni-kwə- tē/ (noun)
1. gross injustice; immoral; sinful; wickedness
2. seriously good single malt whisky
Now Tin Shed Distilling and it’s owners Ian and Vic need no introduction to the Single Malt Whisky Club. We’ve been featuring their whiskies and (in the case of our sister-club, The Rum Tribe) their rums for years now. This month is the first time we’ve featured one of their ‘Anomaly Series’ whiskies. These are limited edition Iniquity whiskies with an experimental nature. Concepts that Ian and Vic wanted to explore and how good are they – the very first of Anomaly Series – ‘Flustercluck’ – won no less than Jim Murray’s Liquid Gold award in his 2022 ‘Whisky Bible’. The Iniquity Lazy Daze is just a s stunning.
In the case of this months ‘Malt of the Month’, the Iniquity Lazy Daze, the aim was to create a whisky that you could comfortably dram on in the heat of the Aussie summer. Just in time for Christmas. And remember – this is an Adelaide Distillery – these guys know what HOT weather is!
The idea first came about a few years back when an old friend of Ian’s came to visit and wanted to try his ’best whisky’ on a 42-degree summer day. At that stage Ian’s ‘best whisky’ was the Iniquity Gold Batch at around 60%ABV. Sweating profusely – Ian protested, but relented and was ultimately proven right. It was too hot. But after the addition of a few ice cubes (and more whisky), it was agreed the diluted whisky was hitting the spot on the sweltering Adelaide day.
And so the concept of a lighter ABV whisky was floated and a batch was created for the ‘Dens Drams’ (the Iniquity members club) as a ‘proof of concept’. A resounding ‘OH YES!’ from ‘the Den’ members meant that Iniquity Lazy Daze was destined to join the Anomaly Series as a limited edition – so we could all enjoy some Lazy Daze.
That’s right folks – a 700ml Aussie single malt whisky from one of Australia’s most recognised artisanal distilleries for just 99 bucks! Stock up for the silly season because they won’t last long at this price!
OUR TASTING NOTES
Nose: Tart green apples, passionfruit, jasmine and vanilla with a note of leather too.
Palate: Wow – big flavour up front with as close to zero heat as I’ve ever tasted in a whisky. Lots more classic fruit notes – citrus and banana with more passionfruit there too
Finish: A lovely lingering, earthy finish with fruit mince wafting around a soft leathery oakiness with more of that classic bourbon cask vanilla jumping into the mix.
Warning – this whisky is just so easy to drink it really should have a warning label! It packs a heap of flavour, but leaves all the heat behind. It’s by no means insipid or watered-down tasting but that low ABV won’t have you sweating around the BBQ when you’re drinking it. And for the price – why not throw it in a frosty highball and really cool down! The boys at the distillery recommend a mix of lemonade and orange bitters with heaps of ice.
FROM TIN SHED DISTILLING
In November 2022 Vic and I realised that whisky drinking is a winter sport. A G&T is fine on a hot day, but you can only drink so many before you start to aspire to enjoying the more sophisticated nuances of single malt. The problem was that most single malts are too heavy, too strong and too complex to be enjoyed in the way that you can when devouring a long drink over ice. So the solution to our dilemma appeared to be just drinking a whisky highball, a malt and mixer. That was fine, as far as it went, but what was missing for us was a dram that was light enough and simple enough to be enjoyed over ice or with a mixer, but still had sufficient weight and complexity to be enjoyed and savoured neat.
The deign brief was not complex, but it was challenging as the parameters were to some extent contradictory. We needed to make the whisky light enough that it was pleasant to drink on a hot day, but not so light that it would be drowned by mixers, tamed by ice, or be insipid neat on a cold winter day. The result was a Den’s Dram limited release called Iniquity Lazy Daze.
In the year since we created the Iniquity Lazy Daze it has proved to be one of our most popular releases when exhibited at tastings. The obvious reaction is to introduce Lazy Daze to the wider whisky drinking community as a core range product.
A young bourbon barrel was the obvious choice as it produces whisky with fresh, light, tropical fruit flavours. Reducing the alcohol to 40% was a good start too as that reduced the excise and the price considerably. This also made Lazy Daze much more approachable on a hot day but left it a bit thin in the flavour department, in need of a tweak. To beef it up a little we added a touch of shiraz cask matured whisky and then gave it a wee bit of smokey port matured whisky to lend complexity.
The result is INiquity Lazy Daze. Some might call it a Breakfast Whisky. We call it a Summer Whisky because it isn’t PC to be drinking all day! It is light and sophisticated and the tropical fruit notes, especially pineapple, on the nose and palate carry through to the finish and it is very easy drinking indeed, but with enough character to work as a winter warmer consumed neat. If you are looking for a thirst quencher this summer we recommend it over ice, with lemonade and a splash of orange bitters. Garnish with a slice of orange.
At $99 for a 700ml bottle, Iniquity Lazy Daze is a pretty good option for the summer, no matter what the weather, or how you consume it.
Nose: Light and approachable with tropical fruits and a hint of citrus.
Palate: Softly, softly, with mangoes, pineapple and a hint of banana. The spirit coats the tongue and palate in a most satisfying manner that is weirdly refreshing and totally unexpected.
Finish: Subtle, but very long, gentle and quite pleasant.
Provenance: First fill Heaven Hill bourbon cask, tweaked with Shiraz cask matured and smokey whisky.
ABOUT TIN SHED DISTILLING
Tin Shed Distillery was established in 2010 by Ian Schmidt and long time drinking buddy Vic Orlow. Ian is a straight talker with little time for fake extravagances – and his distillery certainly reflects this attitude. From the unassuming front door, through to the utilitarian stacks and rows of ageing whisky, to the small stills – this is grassroots craft distilling at it’s finest!
There’s no ‘Visitors Centre’ here (although Ian welcomes visitors by appointment) – the distillery is the visitors centre. What you get is plain and simple – almost spartan. A distillery, bond store, bottling plant and office all under one roof. It’s all about the spirits at Tin Shed Distilling.
***STOP PRESS! ***
As we said – all this is about to change. Tin Shed is about to move (date close but uncertain at time this was penned) to bigger, and much more salubrious location – complete with cellar door and bar! I’m told there’s even going to be FOOD! .
What Tin Shed Distilling lacks in size, flashyness or ‘pomp’ it certainly makes up for in the quality of it’s products. Ian and Vic’s philosophy is ‘only bottle what we like to drink’ – and the results of this attitude were apparent from day one. The very first batch of their Iniquity Single Malt Whisky made the Whisky Bible’s ‘Liquid Gold’ list in 2015 with a score of 94 –described as “a gorgeous experience”. Subsequent whisky bottling have won many accolades and now it’s Tin Shed’s rums turn in the spotlight!
Whilst awards are great, with a distillery as small as Tin Shed, they don’t drive sales. As Ian puts it – “by the time the results are out, we’ve sold all of the spirit we entered”. What’s more important to the boys at Iniquity is feedback from ‘the Den’ (Tin Shed’s members club) and the drinking public at whisky shows. Love this rum – then join Iniquity’s ‘the Den’ and stay up to date with all new Iniquity releases and everything that’s happening at Tin Shed Distilling.
