Tasmanian Whisky

Hillwood Chardonnay Cask

Reviewed by: Nick

Tasmanian = check.

Single cask = check.

Cask strength = check.

Ex-wine barrel = check.

From a small distillery you’ve probably never heard of = check.

Surely I’ve written this exact review before, right? WRONG! Because this whisky is quite unlike anything going around at the moment!

Hillwood Distillery, based just north of Launceston, is the creation of father and sons team: Paul, Ollie, Daniel and Joel Herron. Inspired by their love of creating things, they decided single malt whisky was a product they could all get on board with. Together, they began to lay down small barrels in 2018.

This particular bottle is one of the first Hillwood whiskies released and was aged in the rather uncommon cask type: ex-chardonnay. The barrel influence is significant and part of what makes this a very different whisky to most coming out of the state. Like all Hillwood releases, it is bottled at cask strength, in this case 61.4%, and was one of only 37 bottles.

Let’s begin with the colour. That colour. Wow. Dark whiskies are actually the norm for Hillwood. Paul believes it is to do with the mineral content in the local water, which I couldn’t even begin to verify, but whatever it is, the whisky comes out of a cask which once housed a distinctly white wine looking like a jar of molasses.

On the nose there is an initial whiff of apricot jam which quickly transforms into white chocolate, butterscotch and tiramisu. The palate is intense and grapey with sweet gooey notes of vanilla-latte and Werther’s Originals: caramel topping on ice cream. There’s also a hint of fruitcake, which is curious considering there’s not a hint of fortified wine used in this whisky’s creation. The finish is long. Oh-so long! The sweetness dries off rapidly leaving a lingering oaky spice.

The wood-influence is noticeably present, in no small part thanks to the 20-litre cask the whisky was aged in, but as much as this threatens to overwhelm the delicate chardonnay notes, it never does, leaving a finely balanced flavour bomb. It is an impressive whisky which gets better with every sip.

For many folk there must be a temptation to pass off the Hillwood Chardonnay Cask as just another unpredictable single cask release, yet I can thoroughly recommend seeking this one out, or at least something similar from Hillwood. There is a mini chardonnay cask movement occurring at the moment and it is fascinating to taste the results. I would even go so far as to argue that this is the best of the bunch.

★★★★

Old Kempton First Release Solera Cask

Reviewed by: Nick

Old Kempton Solera WW

There are many positive, glowing and indeed, highly complimentary words you can use to describe the Tasmanian whisky industry: flavourful, innovative, even simply: delicious. However, the word ‘consistent’ is not one that leaps to the top of that list. Due to the single cask nature of most of Tasmania’s small distilleries, it is highly likely that a bottle released by a producer this year is going to be vastly different to one released in two years’ time… or even one the next month. This is ok; most distilleries embrace the variety, although the approach can sometimes confuse return customers.

Old Kempton Distillery in Tasmania’s Southern Midlands is one such keen subscriber to the single barrel release method. Recently however, they have started trialling a Solera system in a huge 500L port puncheon. The contents of 24 smaller barrels have been emptied into this 100-year-old behemoth and left to mix and mingle until the tasting team at Old Kempton determine it to be ready. Crucially though, not all of the barrel’s contents will be emptied: half will remain to marry with the next batch of premium Old Kempton whisky added, before the process is repeated time and time again, creating a reliable flavour profile (and the intriguing premise that the finished product will include an amount of whisky, however infinitesimally small, which is very old indeed).

Old Kempton Solera cask WW

The first bottles out of the tun are about to be released exclusively to Old Kempton whisky club members and with it they have created something unique to not only their own distillery, but to the whole of the Tasmanian whisky industry.

Upon first inspection, you can tell there’s something different about it. It’s so obvious: the colour! It’s far darker and redder than any Old Kempton release I have ever seen, no mean feat considering its (relatively) modest bottling strength of 49%. The colour is surely due to the maturation time in the giant ex-port reciprocal being used to facilitate the Solera process. One sniff indicates the cask has affected the flavour, too.

Old Kempton Solera WW dram

The nose is full of juicy fig notes with large dollops of ripe plums, glace cherries and stewed fruit. It’s rich and dark and features subtle flavours of nutmeg, pears and vanilla custard. The palate continues this theme: rich and broad across the mouth with sweet gooey notes halfway between sticky date pudding and thick gingerbread. The finish is long but without a single note of spicy astringency or over-oaking. Instead it is sweet and fat, like a ganache where the chef has gone rather easy on the cream.

This is a fascinating whisky. Comparing it to other releases from the same distillery is an experience that is confusing in the best possible way. You find yourself speculating on important questions such as ‘how do they do it?’, ‘what will the solera be like in few years?’ and ‘with a colour like this, why are they not called Redlands anymore?’. While we might not be able to provide satisfactory answers to these ponderances, at least we have a delicious dram to mull them over with.

★★★★

Join the Old Kempton Whisky Club before November 5 and you will go into the draw to win a free bottle of Old Kempton First Release Solera Cask!

Straight Batt 44%

Review by: Ted

Investing can be a tricky business – if it goes right then life is good, but there’s always the danger that things can go very, very pear-shaped and people get left empty-handed (and extremely pissed off). Unfortunately the Tasmanian whisky scene has witnessed the tragic side of investing in its short history, with the very public and messy collapse of a well-known distillery in 2016, that left investors bereft of their money, whisky (and cows).

Harry van der Woude was one of the lucky ones. His father Pieter had done some barrel investing when Harry was younger and when the opportunity to re-invest together came up, the younger van der Woude decided “Ah yeah, I’ll get in on that.” After hearing early rumours of trouble at the old mill, they decided to claim their spirit, ‘ambushing’ the distillery by rocking up out of the blue one day armed with the correct paperwork and a couple of empty replacement barrels to swap. Amazingly, they managed to walk out with their two barrels of partly-aged spirit, which is more than a lot of people managed when shit really went down (if the spirit ever existed in the first place in many cases).

After contemplating keeping it for themselves or selling it on as a lot, Harry and Pieter eventually decided to bottle their whisky as a limited-release special-edition run. According to Harry, one of the best aspects of the project was the chance for some quality father/son bonding time. While not being whisky experts themselves, handy friendships and family connections meant that they were able to access mentorship from some of the leading names in the local industry. Crucially, this allowed them to get expert advice about things like maturation lengths, bottling strength and flavour profiles.

The end result is the Straight Batt Single Malt, a limited run of 400 bottles created from a marriage of the two casks liberated by Harry and Pieter. After aging for six years, the 100L French oak ex-tawny and American oak ex-bourbon casks were married together then cut down to 44%. According to Harry, “We tried it at a variety of strengths and that’s just where the sweet-spot happened to be.”

Thanks to the origin of the spirit, the Straight Batt is relatively light in style. The nose is spicy and dry with light oaky notes, beeswax, aniseed, honey and ginger. The overall smell is like a soothing balm for the sting of mishandled investments. The palate is light and fairly smooth, with a slight herbal, almost minty note. The finish is relatively short, with a dry blue-metal and grape linger. The delicate body and ease of drinking would make it a good choice for helping to swallow bitter pills.

The label, designed by Hobart-born artist Alexander Barnes-Keoghan (aka Albarkeo), features a drawing of an old-style cricketer playing a cross-bat shot, instead of the straight bat(t) shot that the name suggests. According to Harry, the artwork is a bit of a visual joke and subtle dig at the main architect of the collapse (who is referenced in the name), who he feels should have played it straight with investors but instead took the wrong approach and got bowled out, taking the whole team with him.

Harry is keen to assure people that the label and the release are all about sticking it to the establishment and are not meant to denigrate those who lost their money: “I want people to see it as at least a small bit of good to come out of a dark time in Tasmanian whisky.”
“A lot of people say ‘Ah, I’d die to be in that position’ and you realise how lucky you are to be able to build something positive out of a misfortune.”
“That’d be the ideal thing for me really, if a few people who got left behind in the fallout reached out and got to at least see something out of the situation. This is solidarity for those who got burned.”

***

Iron House Tasman Whisky Port Cask P1 46.8%

Reviewed by: Ted

Safety warning: This whisky broke my leg. Well… maybe there were a few others involved that night too, but let this serve as a lesson! Make sure that you are in a secure, seated position and under no circumstances should you decide to do an impulsive (but well intentioned) dance. Bad things can happen. Ok, are you comfortable? Right, let’s get on with the story!

Once upon a time there was a brewery called Iron House. It was named after an old droving hut and sat overlooking the Tasman Sea on the East Coast of Tasmania. The head brewer, Briggsy, was sad because he had more wash than he could make into beer. One day he had a brilliant idea: he could transmute the excess wash into gold… liquid gold! And so he set out on a quest to create his own spiritus frumenti… whisky.

Ok, that’s enough of that for now. For the rest of the Iron House backstory, check out our articles here and here. But cutting to the chase, Briggsy (occasionally known as Michael Briggs) succeeded and recently released Iron House’s first whisky. Taking inspiration from their seaside location, the Iron House team has released their product under the label ‘Tasman Whisky’. The current range consists of the holy trinity of bourbon, sherry and port casks, of which I possess the latter.

The inspiration for the storybook start to this article is the unusual and decorative Tasman packaging, which is designed to look like a book. The outside has a grey, fabric-look covering, while the edges are printed to look like pages. There’s even a page inside telling the story of the distillery, covering the insert that holds flat bottle secure. According to brand ambassador Craig ‘Spilsy’ Spilsbury, part of the Iron House ethos is using their product to tell a story, hence the choice of the book box.

All-in-all it’s a very classy item and will look good displayed on a shelf, or tucked away amongst your book collection (a feature Briggsy claims is useful if you’re smuggling it into the house under the nose of your significant other). My one complaint is that there is no latching system for the cover, which means you have to be quite careful about how you carry it, but Briggsy assures me he’s working on some solutions.

My Port Cask is part of batch P1, a marriage of two 100L casks sourced from Portugal, and is bottled at 46.8%. The spirit itself is a nice burnished bronze colour, natch of course. On the nose, P1 is sticky and fruity, like opening a bag of raisins or sultanas. Beyond that is a mix of almonds, chestnuts, dried cherries, dates, honeycomb and a malty, toasty character.

The mouth also has that malty, biscuity character as well as a dollop of frangipane, a combination that makes me think of Bakewell tart. The finish is long, sharp and fruity, with peach syrup and Turkish delight, as well as a touch of chocolate. There’s also perhaps a slight saltiness to be found, which could be attributed to the fact that Iron House is a true coastal distillery, meaning that the aging spirit can pick up elements blowing in from the neighbouring Tasman Sea.

Interestingly, those malty notes are probably a factor of the Iron House still. Because they use a hybrid system, the wash is not discharged before the new-make runs off (ie. only one run is required rather than the usual two), meaning that heavier, cooked-cereal flavours can be transported right through to the end product. Even as I’m sitting here writing this, I’m getting a residual hint of Weetbix on the back of my palate.

The author getting a well deserved ribbing from Briggsy (R) and Spilsy

The Port Cask is definitely my favourite out of the current line-up and is a solid starting point for Iron House. Something else going in its favour is that while the $220 price point is pretty standard for Tasmanian fare, the bottle is 700ml, making it a much more tempting proposition. It’s well worth your time tracking down a bottle or dram of the Tasman Whisky, maybe just hold back on the victory dance when you do!

***

Adams Distillery Pinot Noir Slosh Cask 46%

Reviewed by: Nick

Adams Pinot Slosh WW

What is the most important aspect of a whisky?

a) The region it hails from;

b) The age statement;

c) The prettiness of the bottle; or

d) What it actually tastes like.

While there’s a lot to like in options a) to c) (I’m a sucker for a pretty bottle!), when it comes down to it, the best thing about whisky is that you can drink it and therefore flavour is by far the most important factor.

Which is what the Adams of Adams Distillery had in mind when trying to squeeze every last tasty morsel out of cask AD0086, a French oak ex-pinot noir barrel. But before we get to option d), let us discuss a) to c).

Adams Distillery is based in the North of Tasmania at Glen Ireh Estate in Perth, just outside Launceston. They’ve been expanding the distillery since… well, pretty much since day 1, and the first few of their releases are only just entering the market.

This whisky is in no way old – by Scottish standards at least – but the smaller casking and hotter conditions in Tasmania require an earlier release. To maximise the flavour in each bottle the Adams developed the ‘slosh-cask’ technique, which simply involves regularly rolling the barrel from one side of the bond store to the other – the idea being that the process encourages greater interaction with the wood of the cask, forcing more of the barrel influence into the spirit.

The bottle is particularly pretty as well and is sure to stand out on bars with its distinctly-shaped neck. However, the most beautiful aspect is the colour of the whisky itself: a rich brown which when held up to the light glows ruby red.

It is an appropriate colour when you consider the creation of the dram. Unlike most whisky-makers in Tasmania who stick to a fairly standard grain (usually pilsner malt), Adams has experimented with using a percentage of dark crystal malt in their mash. It could be the power of suggestion… but I can’t help but feel it imparts coffee notes throughout the dram’s flavour.

On the nose there is oodles of chocolate, vanilla and stewed fruits, alongside hints of green grapes. It’s all coated in a thick layer of toffee which continues onto the palate, and is vibrant and viscous, almost chewy. There are also notes of strawberries and chocolate orange, while the finish contains strong coffee fudge flavours. For my fellow North West Coast Tasmanians, Anvers do one that this strongly reminds me of.

This whisky is not subtle – not even a little. But that’s not the point of the dram. The Adams have put flavour first and this is the result. It couldn’t be described as easy drinking and does take some taming. But like a whisky-swilling St George, I’m happy to take on this dragon. It’s exciting and moreish and most importantly of all, something a little different for Tasmanian whisky.

★★★★

Killara Single Malt

Reviewed by: Nick and Ted

Killara pic WW

For many years now, Bill Lark has been the public face of Tasmanian whisky – for good reason too, as he is rightly credited with kickstarting the modern Tasmanian whisky industry. However, while he may be the most visible member of the Lark clan, Bill certainly isn’t the only distiller in the family; wife Lyn shares as much DNA in the original distillery as he does, son Jack has worked with several other whisky makers and daughter Kristy (now Booth-Lark) was Lark head distiller for a time, helping lead the way for female distillers in a historically male dominated industry.

After leaving Lark, Kristy has continued to forge ahead, starting her own distillery, Killara. Named after the street where she grew up, Killara is not only the first second-generation whisky distillery in Australia, but also the first to be fully owned and operated by a female – as Kristy would say, “it’s a one woman show”.

As well as producing a vodka and the acclaimed Apothecary gin range, Kristy is following in the family tradition by crafting single cask whisky. One of the first barrels to be bottled is KD03, a 20L ex-Apera (Australian sherry) cask. Presented in a dark green/black bottle with blue and silver livery and a Gaelic-knotwork style font, the release would almost look more at home on Islay than in Tasmania.

That’s where the similarities with the old country end however, as the spirit is distinctly Tasmania in character. The nose speaks of the small cask size and the Apera origin, with zesty oranges, cherry, nutmeg and glacé ginger. The mouth is savoury and meaty, with marzipan, aromatic spices and an earthy finish that has a subtle smokiness reminiscent of burnt brown sugar.

Having said that, we must remember that KD03 is only the product of one single 20L cask and that each successive Killara release will have its own unique and intriguing nature. This unpredictability doesn’t faze Kristy in the slightest however: “There’s so much variability in the process. That’s what I love about it, there’s a bit of science, a bit of passion and a bit of what we don’t know.” Considering what the Larks have already achieved so far in the short history of our local industry, it will be exciting to see where the new generation of the family takes Tasmanian whisky making next.

★★★★

The Whisky Waffle boys with Killara distiller Kristy and her husband Joe

Hellyers Road 15 Year Old

Reviewed by: Nick

hellyers road 15 year old

Since the dawn of Whisky Waffle (way back in the dark ages of 2014) the Tasmanian whisky scene has completely blown up. I don’t mean that Bill Lark dropped a lit cigar in a bond store, I mean that it has taken the world by storm, impressing whisky critics and Jim Murray alike with its creativity, it’s unique flavour and it’s hard-to-buy-ness. The Tassie distilleries have largely achieved this by sticking to the Bill Lark model, using similar stills, grains, yeasts and cuts to those used by the man himself upon returning from his fishing trip. Except, from almost the beginning, there has always been an outlier; one distillery with a flavour profile sticking out like a delicious sore thumb.

That distillery is Hellyers Road from Tasmania’s north west. While many Tassie establishments chase the big broad zesty orange and caramel notes, Hellyers Road has always been about butter and vanilla and shortbread. While this is not necessarily to everyone’s tastes, most will agree it is certainly different and intriguing. And, upon closer investigation, most Hellyers Road critics have only tried the ‘Original’ before making up their minds and missed out on trying the stellar older releases.

It is one of those aged bottlings to which I turn my attention today, as Hellyers Road has recently released a 15 Year Old. Whisky Waffle have been pre-emptively excited for the release of this one ever since the arrival of the 12, and head distiller Mark Littler agrees, stating he and the Hellyers team are “very proud of what we have achieved”. I grabbed myself a bottle as a Christmas present in the best self-Santa tradition and have finally got a chance to stop and put my thoughts to digital paper.

I’ll start off by saying that it’s the best core-release Hellyers Road have produced. It takes all the good elements of previous Hellyers bottlings and makes them sexier. The nose is alluring, still buttery but with a fat dose of caramel nuttiness oozed over the top like a Belgian dessert. It’s smooth and slinky across the tongue; the vanilla is now accompanied by ginger and nutmeg, while any rougher notes have been ironed out by the extra years in oak. While the Hellyers Road finish has always had a distinct linger – their whisky is normally bottled at 46% or above – this one is subtler and leaves your palate with a Queen of England-style wave of the hand, rather than an energetic high five.

Claiming that the oldest release from a distillery is the best is truly an unoriginal standpoint and there’s a part of me wishing I could say ‘it’s not bad, but will never match the 10 for me’. But I can’t. This is where Hellyers Road is at in 2019 and I suggest you give it a taste before it runs out. That is, until the 18 Year Old is ready…

★★★★

Overeem Red Wine Cask Matured

Reviewed by: Nick

Overeem Red WW

Just when you think you know someone… they go and do this!

I love Overeem. It’s one of my favourite Tassie drops and one I would recommend to anyone trying Tasmanian whisky for the first time (especially the cask strength port cask – phwoar!). The thing is you see, over the years (and multiple tastings) I had come to know what to expect from each Overeem release: a hit of spice and oranges followed by oozing caramel – basically, whisky deliciousness. So upon discovering barrel OHD100 – Old Hobart Distillery’s hundredth cask filled – was fully matured in red wine casks, I expected a grapey take on a familiar flavour. And I could not have been more wrong.

“What is going on here?” I do believe I remarked to m’colleague Ted as I brought this within range of my nostrils. It was a big meaty nose with strawberries and cherries taking centre stage alongside leafy, forresty notes. My best description is simply: intriguing.

And the palate? Well it’s definitely a wine cask. I’m up and down with such maturation and this bottle showcases the good with the bad. It brings to mind mulled wine with oodles of cinnamon and orange notes but competing for space in the mix are sour vinegary elements. And it’s dry – man it’s dry! Oaky oaky tannins leave you with the impression you’ve been sucking on the armrest of an old rocking chair. The finish is long and a little sweet with flavours of black current and aniseed.

This whisky is in no way rough – though at the same time it’s not easy to drink. Its time in a little red wine barrel has smoothed off the coarse edges and packed it with flavour, flavour and more flavour. While the flavours may not always go perfectly together – think of a meal of Atlantic salmon, marshmallows and vegemite – it’s a fascinating mix. This is a whisky that needs talking about as much as it needs drinking! And Whisky Waffle are only too happy to oblige…

★★★

Spirit Thief First Release French Oak Temperanillo Cask Batch 001 48.3%

Posted by: Ted

Name: Hector Musselwhite
Charges: False Pretence (6 Charges)
Sentence: 1 Month each charge

Hector Musselwhite’s charge sheet. Image courtesy of Spirit Thief

Only a century ago, Tasmania could be quite a hard place, especially if you were not well off. Many people turned to petty crime to earn a crust, but even minor misdemeanors were harshly dealt with. Just take our friend above; Mr Musselwhite dabbled in a spot of fraud, nuffin’ serious guvnor, and ended up cooling his heels for six months. Now, three modern-day Tasmanian thieves are busy spiriting away fine distilled malt liquor and transforming it into whisky in tribute to these men and women of old, who they consider to have been dealt a raw hand.

Spirit Thief is a new independent outfit, focused on sourcing the finest Tasmanian spirit and aging it in high quality barrels to create unique limited releases of superlative whisky. The team consists of Brett Steel (founder of Tasmanian Whisky Tours), Jarrod Brown (ex Lark, now assistant distiller at Belgrove) and Ian Reed (ex Sullivans Cove, Lark and now owner of Gold Bar, Hobart).

The Spirit Thief crest contains a pair of crossed valinches, devices that are used for drawing whisky from a barrel. The alternative name for them is ‘spirit thief’

The Thieves recently came out of hiding to deliver their first release. When I caught up with Ian at Gold Bar to obtain a bottle for myself (totally legally may I add), I asked him what started them on their path of crime. “To be honest, we sat down one day and decided to make whisky. The difference this time was that we actually followed through.”

The team has selected wine casking as their chosen medium, with the barrels used for the first release sourced from Main & Cherry Vineyard in South Australia then re-coopered at SA Cooperage with a heavy char. Two cask types were selected, the first being Shiraz. The second cask type is of particular interest though: “We think that we possibly have the first single malt whisky fully aged in ex-Temperanillo casks in the world,” commented Ian conspiratorially. “We just wanted to do something different.”

French Oak Temperanillo Cask (L) and American Oak Shiraz Cask (R). Image courtesy of Spirit Thief

The spirit for the first release was sourced from Redlands Distillery (now Old Kempton), but since then the boys have been working on putting their own mark on the new make. “We’ve been stealing time on people’s equipment to do our own runs. For example, we’ve recently been doing some stuff at Belgrove. It’s gypsy distillation.” Ian also said they’ve been experimenting with other elements of the process too: “We’ve been looking at different brews and playing around with things like different malts. We’ve already got some heavily peated stuff underway, so that’ll be pretty awesome.”

The Temperanillo Batch 001 started life as a 225L French oak barrique that was then cut down into three 20L casks and each filled with spirit. After about 2.5yrs the three casks were vatted together and then bottled at 48.3% abv.

Spirit Thief First Release French Oak Temperanillo Cask Batch 001 Bottle# 048

Coming from a cask that once contained a medium bodied red wine like Temperanillo, the colour of the whisky is a deep, rich amber. The scent is hot, oily and languid, like an old polished timber table in the sun. Notes of beeswax, caramel, dark honey, musk, pears, orange, chestnut, almond, nutmeg, rose, leather and hay play across the senses.

The mouth is dry and spicy with plenty of heat thanks to the decent alcohol percentage, while the mid-palate is oaky with an edge of walnut and a slight sharpness. The finish is long, with a twisted curl of bitter citrus closing out the experience.

Only 110 bottles of the Temperanillo Batch 001 were filled, so for most people the only option will be tracking down some in a bar (Gold Bar is a good place to start, hint hint), however Ian is hopeful this will work in their favour. “We’re super small, so unless people are talking about us everyone will forget us. Because we have such a limited release, having bottles out in bars means that plenty of people will have a chance to try our gear.”

Being one of the reprobates that actually managed to scam a whole bottle for himself, I can say with authority that this rare whisky is one well worth tracking down. If the Temperanillo Batch 001 is anything to go by, hopefully more Spirit Thieves are reformed in their oaken cells and released back into society very soon.

****

Head over to the official Spirit Thief site for more info: https://spiritthief.com.au/

Tasmanian Independent Bottlers RD 001

Reviewed by: Nick

TIB Redlands 001

We’ve reached a point in the Tasmanian whisky industry where Tim Duckett can do whatever the hell he likes. Justifiably, too, having broken so many rules with his Heartwood series, resulting in the creation of whiskies so good and so bizarre you’d be forgiven for thinking they were taken straight out of a whisky nerd’s fantasies. However his latest project, under the innocuous sounding moniker Tasmanian Independent Bottlers (or TIB for short), seems to plant itself firmly in reality.

The first release was the product of only one distillery and only one barrel type and was originally intended to be released at 46%, before Tim caved and bumped it up to 48.4%. No poetic title is required – it is simply named after its cask number – and the label is classy and yet plain, lacking in the unique quirky artwork found on Heartwood bottles. Cosmetically this is the Beatles White album released directly after Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band.

However, Tim still holds the ace up his sleeve: a quality Tasmanian spirit and an intriguing barrel. The first TIB release is from midlands paddock-to-bottle-distiller Redlands, and it has been aged in a Muscat cask.

“That’s more like it Timmy baby!”

Sorry, I got a little carried away there. But you get me, right? Redlands spirit in Muscat barrels assembled by Tim Duckett? This bottle was a must have to me… and it doesn’t disappoint.

It has a big, broad nose full of toffee and oak. There are many tiny subtle aromas breaking through, including pepper, blackberry and spearmint leaves. The palate is quite sweet, loaded with sticky caramel, raspberry jam and dark chocolate. The finish is short and spicy – spicier than most Heartwoods ironically – with lingering raw sugar notes.

Inevitably anyone looking for the next Heartwood release in this bottle is going to go away disappointed – because that’s not what TIB is. This is a far subtler and gentler single malt which does not possess the x-factor of Tim’s other releases. This is not a bad thing, though – it’s a different thing, and a thing that will appeal to some people and not others. It is designed to be more accessible and perhaps easier drinking than Heartwood and every now and again this is exactly what I want. The Convict Resurrection, Vat Out of Hell and Calm Before the Storm are fantastic – but I’d also recommend getting to know their younger brother.

★★★★