Highwayman Whisky Batch 3.5 Torn and Velvety

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 Batch 3.5 Torn and Velvety.  It’s peated and it’s proud and it certainly pulls no punches.

The Highwayman Whisky Batch 3.5 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.

The Highwayman Whisky Batch 3.5 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.

Dan Woolley’s Highwayman Whisky brand is located in Byron Bay (sharing space with Lord Byron Distillers). His small batch single malt whiskies have already gained a huge cult following in Australia and every batch he has produced to date has been a sell-out (within hours of release, in fact). They are both incredibly well made and drinkable. Dan’s raw, peated spirit is smooth as a baby’s bottom – blew me away when I visited the distillery earlier this year I can tell you. They are so rare they are definitely collectors’ items.

Dan Wooley is somewhat of a legend in Australian Whisky circles – and rightly so. Working behind a bar not long after leaving school, soon managing, – then owning – his own. From here Dan went on to training bartenders and then consulting and creating whisky-lists for over 200 bars in Australia. A dream role next – he gained the Australian Ambassador position for his favourite distillery – Laphroaig. In that role he was able to travel the world visiting distilleries and sampling whisky from the barrels in Kentucky, Japan and of course Scotland, as well as receiving a hands-on introduction into distilling from the world’s best distillers. I guess, looking in hindsight, it was pretty inevitable that he’d have a go on his own – and boy has he!

The Highwayman Whisky Batch 3.5 Torn and Velvety are expensive, they are limited edition, they are small batch, they are cask strength, and they are 500ml. That’s how Dan sells whisky. And with the demand for Highwayman so extraordinarily high, that isn’t changing anytime soon.

Nose: 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.

Highwayman Whisky Batch 3.5 Torn and Velvety

All the liquid used to create this limited release was created at Lord Byron distillery by Dan Woolley and the LBD team. Milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling, aging and bottling all done on site in the distillery, locally in Byron Bay.

This very limited Highwayman Whisky Batch 3.5 Torn and Velvety release sees the marriage of liquid from 2 different casks. The first cask saw unpeated spirit filled into a 100L first fill French oak tawny cask in late 2019 with the second cask being filled with peated spirit straight into a 50L refill wet tawny cask in early 2020. These two liquids married beautifully together to create this spectacular batch release that’s bottled at a cask strength of 55% especially for Brad and all the members of the Single Malt Whisky Club. Massive flavours packed into this huge whisky, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Dan

Nose: Kola nut, blood orange and red grapes, gentle star anise, grandpa’s old musty wardrobe, antique furniture, warm roasted Brazil nuts with a touch of earthy smoke

Palate: Molasses and burnt prunes, sweet blood orange/grapefruit tang, natural almonds with a hint of smoked paprika. Natural dried cacao

Finish: Med dry finish. Very inviting

Highwayman whisky is the hard work and lifelong commitment of Dan Woolley. Dan has been one of the modern faces of whisky over the last ten years, holding one of the most sought-after Whisky ambassador roles in Australia (Laphroaig).

Throughout this role he travelled countless hours, covered thousands of Highway miles with a bag full of whisky, educating whisky lovers – He was the Highwayman of whisky. This role gave him a backstage pass to globally renown distilleries throughout Scotland (especially Islay), Kentucky, Tasmania and Japan. These journeys developed a deeper, hands on understanding of production and a huge passion for whisky maturation.

In 2016 Dan started to lay down his own spirit in his chosen casks, collecting the first ten batches from favorite distillery locations around Australia. He sent them on the Highway to Coastal Byron Bay, NSW, their new home (and his) where they matured while Dan started acquiring the equipment he needed to produce his own spirit. In a dream come true and an alignment with Lord Byron distillery, this new make spirit came to life and production started on Dan’s still in 2018.

In mid-2020 he launched the brand Highwayman – his life’s work in a liquid library for all to share. The first bottlings not only sold out in minutes but have now found their way back onto the Highway to whisky lovers all over Australia and some of them sneaking off internationally.

The new chapter of Highwayman whisky’s liquid library sees the unleashing of the first ever 100% Byron Bay single malt whisky. Local barley is milled, mashed, fermented, distilled and aged in a combination of different oak casks. This art is all created at the Lord Byron distillery. Hand made in micro batches and bottled at cask strength in its purest form.

Highwayman – made by a serious whisky lover for serious whisky lovers to enjoy and share everywhere!