Iniquity Gold Batch No. 007

Attention Liquid Gold Collectors – Tin Shed Distilling AWARDED 94.5 for their ‘Iniquity Gold Series Batch No. 007’ thus achieving immortality as Liquid Gold for 2024!

Well Ian and Vic at Tin Shed Distilling have done it again – they’ve won a coveted Jim Murray ‘Liquid Gold’ award for 2024 and we’ve had just enough time to squeeze this winner in as our Members Extra for February.

Every year, controversial whisky writer and author of the ‘Whisky Bible’ Jim Murray awards a ‘Liquid Gold’ Award to any whisky that he scores 94 points or higher.

Jim describes any whiskies scoring better than 94 points as “Superstar whiskies that give us all a reason to live”.

So you can imagine how happy we were just a couple of weeks ago our good mates at Tin Shed Distilling found out that their ‘Iniquity Gold Series Batch No. 007’ has scored 94.5 thus achieving immortality as Liquid Gold for 2024.

The Iniquity Gold Series Batch No. 007 is comprised primarily of a single 5yo 225l Port barrel, with a little Ex-Shriaz cask and a smidge of peated spirit (both 5yo as well) to ‘round the edges and light the afterburners’ as Ian puts it. Presented as a strictly limited edition 700ml bottling at 56%abv.

Now this isn’t Iniquity’s ‘first rodeo’ in the Whisky Bible by any means – they scored Liquid Gold in 2015 with their very first release of Iniquity! But it is their latest, and it is still in stock… for now!

We are super excited to be offering this whisky – as we know that collectors will be swarming to grab one.

** STOP PRESSS – Iniquity Talamara, Awarded ‘Gold’ & ‘Best in Category’…at the 2024 World Whiskies Awards ‘Single Malt 12 Years & Under’ **

Nose:23 – the grape is brimming over the side of the glass: I think we are in for one colossal delivery on the palate. Despite all this fruitcake richness, the malt has found room for a major say, too…;

Taste:24 – a nose like that never lies! Just beautiful from so many angles, but not least the way the heather honey infiltrates the grape at key moments to ensure a lightness of touch to the weight of the fruit. Healthy strands of malt can be picked out at regular intervals, but the closer to the middle you go the plummier this becomes;

Finish:23.5 – such an elegant and well-manicured finish. The fruit, previously gushing, is now neat and tidy to fa comfortably with the deeper tannins. The spices remain low but present, but the final notes are one of plum jam on toast;

Body:24 – when they picked a Port cask for their whisky, did they pick one hell of a Port cask! One of the best I have tasted this year. Couple that with some excellent distillate and what we have is a brilliant all-round performance….

Nose: 23/25 Taste: 24/25 Finish: 23.5/25 Body: 24/25

Nose: Wow – on first sniff it’s all about the ginger nut bickies for this reviewer, but a warm buttery nuttiness soon makes itself known and swirls and blends with the signature Iniquity new-leather note.

Palate: So very big and round on the palate with all the expectations from the nose realised in full. Sensational balance of spice and fruit, sweet and sour and a definite umami shove there at the back bolstering the sweetness of the fruit.

Finish: That delightful buttery-nuttiness returns in the finish to really smooth out anything otherwise sharp there. It’s big, but silky and (dare I say it… smooth. It sticks to your cheeks slathers your palate in pure, liquid joy.

Another big, beautiful friend-hug of a whisky that is boisterous and bold, but still plays nice. It’s as big as it is soft, it’s all warm reds and autumn yellows and browns, a luscious fruity cuddle that leaves you feeling PJ-comfy and doona-loved. It’s not cheap – but what AMAZINGNESS is these days?

Gold batch 007 is a very interesting dram because every time I try it, I get something different from the nose and the palate and the finish. As whiskies go, this one is a chameleon and all the more enjoyable because of it. When I look back at the original video I ask if it is the same whisky.

Cheers,
Ian

Nose: This is a gorgeous nose that makes you want to climb in the glass with the whisky. There is a lot going on here with notes of toffee, treacle, maple syrup, molasses, dried stone fruits, ginger snaps, pine needles, that mint Aero chocolate bar, sandalwood, gummy bears and cream sherry.

Palate: There is a healthy alcohol tongue tingle and once again, warmth without heat. The silky smooth mouth feel is a sensual pleasure followed by flavours of burnt caramel, burnt apricot or fig jam, Jaffas, more rich caramel and toffee.

Finish: Hazelnuts and roasted chestnuts, but in truth this whisky is so well integrated that picking out individual flavours is challenging in a finish that lingers and evolves in a kaleidoscope of sensations that leaves you wanting more, and more, and more… `

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.

What Tin Shed Distilling lacks in size, flashyness or ‘pomp’ it certainly makes up for in the quality of its 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 the Tin Shed crew have also turned their attention to rum and vodka!

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.