OUR TASTING NOTES
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.
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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. -
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! -
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. -
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! -
IT’S A FIRKIN UNICORN! A 12 year old, Double Oaked Tawny Port matured, extremely rare Single Malt from the Scottish Highlands, finished with a bit of FIRKIN magic! Exclusive in Australia to the Single Malt Whisky Club and bottled at a perfect 48.9% for your drinking pleasure. This is FIRKIN great whisky! When whisky legend, Mike Collings (the guy that created Johnny Walker Blue and Green among many others), releases something new to the world – it’s wise to check it out. When he told me last year about an upcoming couple of his ‘double wood’ casks full of 2009 Teaninich I was all ears. Not only is any single malt bottling of Teaninich extremely rare (spirits giant Diageo uses most of it in their various blended whiskies), to get a bottling that’s been ‘touched’ by the Firkin magic is a bit of a unicorn. After a bit of too-ing and fro-ing – we managed to secure the entire Australian allotment of the aptly titled ‘Firkin Rare Teaninich 2009.OUR TASTING NOTESNose: Fresh, tart apple juice jumps out at first, but then a rounder, sweeter note comes through –ripe plums and vanilla. Palate: Crisp and clean mouthfeel –a little pepper but no real heat. Lots of red fruit up front – sweet plums and ripe red grapes morph into malty milk arrowroot bikkies. Finish: Very pleasing – vanilla becomes more pronounced and swirls around seeing the fruit out. A nice malty- sweetness remains at the end to chew on whilst you pour the next one (yes, you will pour a next one!). A light, yet complex dram. A bit of a Firkin enigma, really. Dry and crisp, yet sweet and juicy. Fruity, yet malty. The 48.9% gives it sufficient kick, and avoids the heat. Nicely balanced all round! Nice one, Mr. Collings! -
The OFFICIAL Premium Whisky Glass of the Club! Hand-blown, hand-cut and hand-polished lead-free crystal. Engineered to perfection by engineers - Denver and Liely. It is simply the best possible, highest performance whisky glass in the world. Rated number one whisky glass in the world by Forbes magazine most recently. Also featured in Wallpaper, Vogue, Broadsheet, Mens Health, Financial Review, Harrods Magazine, Singapore Airlines magazine, Cool Hunter and the list goes on. Google it. The Denver & Liely Whisky Glass came about from an exploration into the diverse and often mysterious world of whisky. Wanting to improve on the drinking experience by exploring the deepest, darkest depths of their whisky collections, the Denver & Liely Whisky Glass was born. -
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. -
Made exclusively for the Single Malt Whisky Club, aged in Cabernet casks from a renowned Clare Valley winery and bottled at a premium 55% ABV for our members. This STRICTLY LIMITED viscous single malt is a rich journey into fig jam, vanilla, fresh tobacco, rice-pudding and Italian expresso. In 2021, we introduced members to the renowned Spirit Thief Distilling Co based in Tasmania. This introduction was one of their independently bottled whiskies – the spirit distilled at Belgrove Distillery and aged in Mataro wine casks. This month we are delighted to announce another Spirit Thief offering but this time a whisky made 100% by Spirit Thief. No indy bottling this one – one of their very own!OUR TASTING NOTESNose: Stewed fruit and oak strait away but there’s a beguiling sweetness over the top as well. I say ‘wizz-fizz’, my dear old dad says boiled lollies and my son (who, at 16, has literally been smelling whisky with me his whole life) says lemonade. Whatever it is, you can (and will!) nurse this one under your schnoz and argue about it for ages! Palate: A fantastically luscious moutfeel – rich and oily. Nice and fruity without being too sweet – but there are jammy notes as well. At full strength (55% ABV) it does provide a fair pepper, but if that’s not your thing, a dash of water settles that right down. Coffee and nutty notes flow on into the finish. Finish: Settles in for a while this one. Coffee and dark chocolate rolls around roasted nut brittle and sweet pipe tobacco in the tin as it fades out with a lovely warmth. This is one of those whiskies you bring out after a good dinner with good company. Then sit back and bask in the ‘wows’. It’s big and bold, but well behaved and with a finish that you’ll chew on with a smile. Be warned though. You are gonna argue about that sweet note on the nose. Just what is it? -
ELEVATE YOUR GIFT GAME WITH THE SMWC GIFT CARD BOX!
- Choose 1, 2 or 3 month options
- Our NEW Gift Card BOX comes with a SMWC Whisky Glass, timber Gift Card and the highly sort after Single Malt Whisky Club Hip Flask!
- Choose to send it to yourself and have something to wrap up to gift, or send it to the lucky recipient!
- Redeemable for any of our monthly Whisky releases or the Whisky Store
- Gift Card details are all sent via email to either you or the lucky recipient
- No expiry date for use
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Is there anything better than bringing a new whisky to Australia for the first time? Well yes… bringing TWO in the same month! Our second Aussie exclusive this month is the Glen Garioch 8yo from up-and-comers in the Scottish indy bottling industry, Dram Mor. Limited to only 241 individually numbered bottles, this CASK STRENGTH, SINGLE CASK Single Malt is matured in ex-bourbon barrels from the small batch specialist, Glen Garioch Distillery that has been making whisky since 1797 in North East Scotland.OUR TASTING NOTESNose: A solid base of granny smith apples underlies fresh and vibrant floral and grassy notes with a citrus tang. Palate: Wonderful, buttery, creamy mouthfeel luxuriously coats the palate before a wave of poached pear, vanilla custard, honey and buttered milk arrowroot biscuits and a lovely walnut flavour chase each other around the palate. Finish: Lovely medium peppery-ness leads the charge to the finish, but it’s the sweet, floral notes that linger longest! This is a wonderfully easy drinking dram (especially after a splash of water to open it’s cask strength goodness) and an almost textbook demonstration of fantastic highland spirit matched with first class oak. All the biscuits, nuts, vanilla and buttery mouthfeel you could ask for in a bourbon cask matured whisky. -
After rave reviews from its initial release in 2021 and members wanting more, we have an Australian stunner of a whisky special release – the Chief’s Son ‘The Aiden 2016’ all the way from the multi-award winning distillery on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. With these credentials it will take pride of place in your collection.- From one of the oldest casks at Chief‘s Son
- The first of the special ‘Family’ casks ever to be released
- Casks originally coopered in France and used for Red Wine then Sherry
- Re-coopered for whisky casks by none other than legendary cooper, Andrew Young from Seppeltsfield Estate
- Each individually numbered bottle is individually laser etched
OUR TASTING NOTESNose: Some mustiness at first but the sweetness soon materialises in the form of maple syrup, with a touch of bubble gum thrown in, some apricots and delicate leathery notes. Palate: Lovely rich oily mouthfeel here. A sweet yet nutty palate – with scorched almond brittle, caramel and slightly burnt toffee to boot. There’s also a suggestion of liquorice with just a little pepper at he back of the mouth. Finish: More nut brittle, pepper and oak swirl over and around each other in a flurry of rich caramel syrup. A lovely balance between the roast nuts and sweet caramel here – not too sweet but definitely not dry. Interestingly, on sharing my tasting notes with the Chief’s Son crew, it was revealed to me that their stills are electrically heated and they do get a lot of caramelisation of sugars onto the internal heating elements – hence the caramel notes. This whisky is just so very more-ish. I bet you’ll have poured another before the finish has run it’s course from the first dram! -
A first for the SMWC – until now, we’ve never before offered a wine! That’s right – your WHISKY club is offering a non-distilled beverage as our Members Extra this month…and it isn’t even made from malt! But of course, this is not just any wine…It’s a very special Iron House Vineyards 2018 Pinot Noir, the very wine whose barrels were used to mature this months whisky in! This is a special opportunity to sample a perfectly matched pair from an absolutely brilliant distillery and vineyard! This Iron House Vineyards 2018 Pinot Noir is a superb example of ‘farm to bottle’ production. This wine is completely produced at Iron House - from growing the grapes to crushing, fermenting and ageing. Aged for around 12 months on the wood and then bottled and laid to mature until it’s ready to drink.OUR TASTING NOTESBouquet: Sweet cherries and plumbs and black berries with a backbone of mild tannins. There’s also a savoury quality floating around in the mix. Palate: Medium bodied with mild white pepper and more of those red fruits in spades. A little cola flavour too, in there somewhere. A nice balance between the dry oak notes, and sumptuous red and black fruits. Finish: Rich, long and satisfying. Chewy and mouth-watering with all those big fruits and berries washing over mild spice as it slowly fades into the occasion! This is a superb, rich and complex red that sits just as comfortable around Mum’s Sunday roast as it does a takeaway curry. It presents well strait after opening, but if you give it 10-15 minutes to breath after opening, you’ll notice a much fuller, rounder quality to this practically perfect Pinot. -
Need to take your whisky with you? Our 235ml (8oz) stainless steel Hip Flask, wrapped in leather with subliminal white stitching has you covered. Theatres, sporting events, parent/teacher interviews...you will always have your favourite dram at hand. -
The Single Malt Whisky Club - Whisky Glass has been designed specifically to allow for the savouring of fine whisky. It is evenly balanced in hand and its tapered mouth guides every quality the whisky offers toward your senses. This glass is great for picking up the subtle nuances of your favourite dram.