OUR TASTING NOTES
Nose: An initial marmalade hit on the nose, followed by fresh-cut grass, apples and pears strait off the tree and (despite Martins claims to the contrary) I do get a subtle leathery note.
Palate: Wow – a real unexpected custard-y creaminess at first, but then a rich and sweet fruitiness takes over. The sweetness of the fruit provides a nice contrast to the overall dryness of the spirit.
Finish: Finish is long and sweet. A big malty surprise comes out of the whisky in the final stages. Very milk arrowroot bisquit-y.
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Another ‘Waratah Wonder’ – this time from the wonder-ful Mr. Martin Pye and his Riverbourne Distillery - The Riverbourne Identity #9, a Limited Edition, French and American Oak matured whisky with delicate citrus and floral notes. The Riverbourne Identity #9 was made from NSW grown ‘Compass’ barley fermented using three different yeasts. The wash was distilled at Riverbourne Distillery, then aged in Cask #108 - a shaved and re-charred French Oak barrel with American oak lids - before being cut to 48% with Molongo River water then bottled. There is only 220 bottles of this whisky magnificence. This is the 9th Edition of ‘The Riverbourne Identity’ and it’s a completely different whisky than our peated Corowa Malt of the Month from Barrelhouse 28. -
We asked one of Australia’s most popular ‘cult distillers’, renowned for limited edition releases and his dedication to craft distilling, for a ‘big’ whisky and something that showcased his style for our members and boy did he deliver – His very first Sherry Bomb – a 1st Fill Oloroso cask, bottled at a whopping Cask Strength 64.5% and its exclusively made for our members. Hold onto your hats and please welcome Craft Works Distillery’s ‘Some May Welcome Change’. A whisky dedicated to our little club (hint – look at the initials in the name!) and a new direction from Crafty – 1st fill Oloroso Sherry Matured whisky! His first bone-fide sherry bomb!OUR TASTING NOTESNose: For me it’s straight-up chocolate at first. But then some really difficult to pinpoint notes – some aniseed, some paprika and then just a smidge of nail polish remover is hiding there as well. Palate: At first it’s a rather dry mouthfeel. But it creeps around the inside of your cheeks with very little alcohol burn (surprisingly at this abv)… and then the fruit explodes! Plums, sultanas and mixed peel individually, then all stewed together with a real marzipan thing going on at the same time. Finish: Long and complex – so many flavours rolling around in there! The stewed fruit persists, but is overthrown by coffee and the aniseed makes a comeback just as the curtain start to draw closed. -
From one of our absolute favourite Award Winning Tasmanian Distilleries, we have the FIRST EXPRESSION of their very FIRST ‘SOLERA’ whisky release, bottled EXCLUSIVELY for our members – The Spring Bay Solera! Now whisky aficionados know that Spring Bay whisky gets mentioned in the same circles as Sullivans Cove, Overeem and Lark and there is good reason for this, as the owners, Cam and Suzy took many influences from these legendary distillers and world agrees! With Spring Bay taking out Best Oceania Single Malt Whisky for their Tawny Port Cask at the Tokyo Whisky and Spirits Competition and three of their whiskies picked up a Gold and two Silvers at the World Whiskies Awards.- Award Winning Tasmanian Distillery
- First Expression of their Solera is EXCLUSIVE to the Club
- Chardonnay, Port and Muscat barrel maturation
- Made with East Coast Tasmanian rainwater
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Now, the whisky business doesn’t get much more serious than the Remnant Whisky Co…An EXCLUSIVE follow up to one of our biggest selling whiskies of 2022 – A mix of 10 year old Port and Sherry Casks and we’re excited to be releasing another bottling from these absolute angels of Australian whisky – The Remnant Whisky Co. Black Spot ‘SMWC #02’! This is the second release we’ve partnered with Remnant Whisky Co to bring to the Club. The first Remnant Black Spot we featured back in 2022 was an INSTANT SELLOUT and we have no doubt this one will follow suit. It’s a simply sensational 10+ year old Tasmanian whisky in a 700ml bottle at a better price than a 500ml Black Spot normally sells at! This month’s Remnant Whisky Co. Black Spot SMWC02 is blended from a selection of port and sherry casks all over 10 years old. Their abv’s at disgorging ranged from 66.2 to 42.1%abv but this whisky gem is bottled at 48.1%abv. -
Snowy Mountains Whisky? Make way for a super small-batch, cask strength, independent bottling of one of Tasmania’s finest distilleries aged and bottled in the highest altitude of any whisky in Australia – The Snowy Mountain Spirits Tawny! Now Mark Newton is a man who enjoys doing things a little… differently. Not only does he independently age and bottle whisky in Australia’s highest location, he brings the new-make all the way from Tassie to do it. The Snowy Mountains Spirits Tawny was born in Tassie, at the Old Kempton Distillery in fact! For those members who don’t know, Old Kempton is a well-awarded small batch distillery located just north of Hobart. So how highly regarded is Old Kempton – well they took out ‘Best Australian Small Batch Single Malt’ at the World Whisky Awards in 2022, and have just won a silver this year!OUR TASTING NOTESNose: Lots of sweet spices up front for me – cloves, allspice and cinnamon over dried fruit and tinned apricot nectar. Palate: Lovely viscous mouthfeel (almost liqueur –like), and initial burst of pepper but all the big stewed fruit comes right through like a wave. Finish: Warm, chewy, lush and lingering. Coffee and dark chocolate, sweet spiced fruit mince and just a perfect cheek pinching citrus-like astringency. This is a small, and let’s face it, high priced package, but it won’t disappoint once you taste it. The ‘Tassie distillation - Snowy Mountain maturation’ makes it hard to put a flag on, but I do know it’s a fantastic example of a Tawny matured whisky. Nicely warming, big and round and sweet – but with a lovely dry back edge that makes you pour just one more dram. Ok, and maybe one more after that… -
This is the very last expression ever of Spirit Thief’s independent bottlings…but what a whisky it is…a cask strength, double distilled, single cask finished in a French wine cask. The Spirit Thief Benrinnes Bordeaux Red-Wine Cask was double distilled at the Speyside Benrinnes Distillery in 2008. Bottled in 2019 it has spent 11 years in a first fill red-wine cask from Château Gruaud-Larose in the Bordaux region of France. Then bottled at a cask strength of 55.2% ABV with absolutely nothing added, and of course non-chill filtered. This is a superb example of wine cask maturation, hand selected from the Benrinnes bond-store by Tasmania’s own ‘wine-cask’ experts – Spirit Thief.OUR TASTING NOTESNose: Sweet nutty nougat with a citrus twist but there’s also a slightly salty-savoury note behind the sweetness. Palate: A big spice burst first up but a solid creaminess of mouthfeel becomes apparent as the pepper fades. Big sweet red fruits cut through and there’s also crystallised ginger and custardy notes in there too. Finish: Finish is long and constantly evolving – pepper morphs to sweet fruit morphs to dry tannins. -
A 7+7 triple maturation (Apera, then first fill Apera, then maple syrup) release from an Indy Bottler who’s first releases have propelled the brand to near-cult status amongst lovers of Aussie whisky – The Whisky in Isolation ‘Magnificent Seven’ Now the ‘Magnificent Seven’ is a whisky from a distillery the Club is very familiar with – Chief’s Son. To date, our club has featured the oldest maturing cask of Chief’s Son on no less than two previous occasions with two of the ‘Family Casks’ (filled by the children of Stuart) – the Aiden and the Cameron. This Whisky in Isolation Magnificent Seven is now the THIRD time we’ve featured the oldest Chief’s Son ever bottled!OUR TASTING NOTESNose: Absolute masses of stewed fruits that you’d imagine from an Apera aged, then finished whisky. Justin mentioned a ‘rummy note’ and I get what he means – there’s a little funk in this nose! (..and I always thought Justin was a metal guy!) But there’s also some bubble gum notes there, as well as a definite hint of unburnt tobacco and a bit of peanut brickle too. Palate: Just as thick and rich a mouthfeel as the colour alludes to. A peppery burst (but surprisingly little at 58%abv - almost none with a ‘bloop‘ of water added) at first – but then an absolute WALL of flavour explodes on your palate. BIG stewed sultanas, prunes and raisons. And the flavours keep coming in waves. Candied citrus rind and a creamy note transform into an almost savoury, charcuterie note which then morphs into nut-butter. Finish: So chewy and warming. It’s all of the above – but slowly fading out as they cry ‘another… another… ‘. At the very end there’s a distinct nuttyness. This is a big, layered and immensely luxurious whisky. So massive in colour, mouthfeel and flavour, with delicious fruit and cream and all those things we’d expect from an apera aged and finished whisky- yet with a ‘sweet and fat sultana-ey shoulders’ reminiscent of a botrytis cask aged whisky I recently tasted. -
Up for your drinking enjoyment is legendary independent bottlers, Signatory Vintage and their fantastic take on an Island malt – the Pulteney 2008 Aged 12 Years. A Cask Strength, marriage of Bourbon and Sherry casks with a slight salty maritime influence that will dance on your taste buds. The Pulteney 2008 Aged 12 Years was distilled (as the name suggests) at the Pulteney Distillery and aged in refill Bourbon Barrels. After around 9 years the three casks were married into a single fresh Sherry Butt for 33 months to finish. The resultant whisky is bottled at cask strength, un-chill filtered and without any additives of any kind.OUR TASTING NOTESNose: Poached pears, sultanas, unburnt tobacco, with a touch of salt on the nose as well. Palate: Fruit comes through much richer and darker than on the nose. Those big, red ‘sherry fruit tones’ in abundance, but also some vanilla and buttery notes from those bourbon barrels, some pepper there too – big on the first sip, but settles thereafter. Finish: Nice hearty and long finish, the pepper presents at the front of my tongue in waves, whilst the stewed fruit seems to sit on my cheeks. That sea-side salty nuance re-appears as well. I wouldn’t go as far as to say this is a ‘sherry bomb’ – this is much more balanced than that. The buttery, vanilla from the bourbon casks is nicely complimented by the fruity, first-fill sherry cask treatment it had for just shy of 3 years. And I do get the salty maritime influence I’ve always loved from Pulteney whisky. I can only assume that Signatory Vintage have bought the Bourbon barrels aged at Pulteney prior to marrying them in their own sherry butt. The salty notes definitely lead me to believe this is likely! -
All the way from the Emerald Isle, a limited edition, 16 year old Irish whiskey and we have the entire Australian allocation of it. For all of our Irish whisky lovers out there – The Barr an Uisce 16yo Single Malt Whiskey. This whiskey is a limited edition (only 1803 numbered bottles), un-chill filtered, 16 year old cracker of a whiskey. Unusually for an Irish, the Barr an Uisce 1803 16 year old is double-distilled rather than triple distilled. It has been aged in first fill Kentucky Bourbon barrels and is presented at 46% abv. Not only that – as an added bonus, it’s in a 750ml bottle! Ahh… 750ml bottles… It’s been awhile since we featured a whiskey with an ‘e’ in it. As lovers of Irish single malt whiskey well know – they are not exactly in abundant supply in this day and age all the way down here!OUR TASTING NOTESNose: Very fresh and fruity on the nose. Lot’s of pears and citrus-y notes first up, but then a distinct salted caramel swirl soon becomes apparent. Palate: The citrus and white fruits go through to the palate – as does that interesting salted quality. More vanilla and also some honey there. Nice and crisp, fruity with a sweet roundness. Finish: Honey notes roll around the vanilla and fruit as it slowly fades. -
This is a cask strength 'ode to the Sherry-cask'…From the masters of the single cask, Signatory Vintage, we’re proud to present this 11-year-old sherry-bomb, The Signatory Vintage Mortlach 2010 Aged 11 Years. This is a limited edition whisky with only 705 individually numbered bottles worldwide. This single malt whisky was distilled in 2010 at the Mortlach Distillery before being placed in a refill Hogshead. It was then finished in a fresh Sherry Butt for 15 months and in 2021 it was bottled at 57.8% ABV as part of the Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection. Mortlach’s bold flavour profile has seen it dubbed “The Beast of Dufftown” and is said to exist somewhere in between mellow and smoky. In a region renowned for its mellower, gentler ‘whisky-vibe’, Mortlach stands out for it’s robust, muscular and rich character.OUR TASTING NOTESNose: Rich, fruity and lush from the get-go. Dried fruits abound, but a deeper savoury quality lurks in the background. Palate: Big fruity sherry flavours galore here. If you’re missing Christmas cake already, then you’ll love this! All the fruitcake spices, rich red fruits, chocolate and coffee notes you’re craving! Finish: Lovely and lush, chewy and long. Those fruity notes keep going on the back of the peppery waves and the lovely oiliness keeps that finish all over the mouth. Most definitely the sherry ‘yan’ to our Malt of the Month’s bourbon ‘Ying’. All the red-fruits, fruit cake, coffee and chocolate you could ask for in a big sherry-d whisky. The rich base spirit really carries those sherry influences well! -
Sale!
Get ready for a very serious, peat forward, extremely limited edition, powerhouse of a whisky from legendary cult distiller, Dan Wooley and his highly sought after Highwayman Whisky. Our November Members Extra is the sensational Highwayman Batch 3.5 Torn and Velvety - It’s peated and it’s proud and it certainly pulls no punches. The Highwayman Whisky Batch 3.4 ‘Torn and Velvety’ was hand selected by Brad and Dan specifically for the Club and it’s so limited we are limiting it to members who also purchase the Malt of the Month. A double Tawny cask matured blend of peated and unpeated whisky from the Highwayman still located in beautiful Byron Bay. We are indeed fortunate to have been able to secure this exceptional whisky as Dan Woolley’s Highwayman Whiskies are in high demand all over the country and fast becoming a cult favourite. ‘Torn and Velvety’ is made from a blend of two casks. A first-fill, 100L French Oak Tawny cask filled with unpeated spirit – just shy of 3 years old, and a 50L Tawny cask filled with peated spirit and matured for around 2 and a half years. The result is a spectacularly fruity whisky with a peat hit to match! This is going to make our peat-freaks extremely happy. No ‘subtle wafts’ here.OUR TASTING NOTESNose: Unmistakable peat influence on the nose sets the tone up front. There’s Charcuterie savouriness with some sea-salt and a few dried sweet dates around the edges Palate: Sweet, Tawny fruit notes really cut through the savoury smokiness beautifully creating a very well balanced palate. Loads of sweet fruit mince, caramel, coffee notes whilst the smoky peat provides real shoulders for them all to climb on. Finish: BIG, Long , Chewy and Robust! A real ‘peat-freak’ type of finish - the smoke swirling all around, but cut through by brilliant streaks of sweet, savoury, salty and umami in perfect harmony.