Remnant Whisky Co. Black Spot ‘SMWC #02’

Every release from Remnant is one less in the warehouse. There will never be more of this unique whisky with a unique story made.

Now the Remnant Whisky Co. is an Indy bottling with a distinction – they only bottle whisky from ONE distillery. A Tasmanian distillery. A distillery with an – how do you say it? – ‘unfortunate history’. But first, a little background…

Many are likely familiar with the Tasmanian distillery and barrel investment program that took a regrettable turn in 2017, leaving both small and large investors with empty – or worse, non-existent casks of whisky. It’s a poignant narrative that unfolded when Australian Whisky Holdings (now operating as Lark Distilling) was in the midst of acquiring the aforementioned distillery. The unravelling began when they discovered a disconcerting disparity between the recorded inventory and the actual contents of the bond-store. If you’re curious for a concise overview, a detailed summary can be found here.

One of the most disheartening aspects of this saga, aside from the financial losses suffered by investors (which I acknowledge with gravity, as some of our members were directly affected), is the fact that this distillery appeared to be on an upward international trajectory. Globally praised and adorned with awards, it was hailed as ‘liquid gold’ and destined for greatness – or so it seemed.

In short, Australian Whisky Holdings ended up acquiring the physical distillery and its real estate, but none of the maturing stock (the actual, existing whisky). While AWH did agree to oversee the existing stock on behalf of investors, they did not own it, and unfortunately, there were no funds to compensate the investors. The result was a stash of fantastic whisky with no clear direction.

In 2020, Peter Bignell and his son Dane, from Belgrove Distillery, spearheaded a consortium with a mission to ‘rescue’ these barrels from their seemingly perpetual state of ‘whisky purgatory.’ Acquiring around 300 casks, they have since been skilfully blending and bottling from these exceptional barrels under the fitting brand name ‘The Remnant Whisky Co.’ Without the tireless efforts of Peter’s consortium, the fate of this whisky would have remained uncertain.

The Black Spot releases from The Remnant Whisky Co. represent the cream of the crop among these casks. Each Remnant Black Spot batch, now passing a decade in age, originated during the ‘golden years’ of the distillery’s production. The ‘Black Spot’ name pays a cheeky homage to the fact that the distillery’s name had been [not so] discreetly painted over on the casks when Remnant assumed ownership.