That Boutique-y Whisky often run invite only tastings to showcase their latest batch releases. Led by their brand ambassador Dave Worthington @BoutiqueyDave you are taken through some amazing whiskies this time from down under!
This Australian Series is a release of 8 bottles.
For those that don't know That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC) @BoutiqueyWhisky is an indie bottler owned by Atom Brands - owners of Master Of Malt, Drinks by the Dram and a few other well know whisky companies! They specialise in small batch whiskies from around the world - including from some distilleries you might not of heard of yet!
Each 50cl bottle has it's own unique graphic-novel-style label and associated postcard by Emily Chappell. You can read an amusing account of how she came to create whisky labels here!
For this Australian Series @BoutiqueyWhisky say :
"Shining a light on the outstanding quality of the liquid coming from these relatively small craft whisky distilleries and making it accessible to a wider audience around the globe has long since been the goal for TBWC, but this is their first foray into showcasing a particular region's offerings in one release."
Boutique-y held a zoom and gave me the chance to try 6 of their 8 releases - my thoughts:.
Belgrove Batch 1 4yo Rye Ex-bourbon @ 49.8% (309 bottles)
My thoughts:
Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls leave a thin line which beads up and falls as slow thick legs.
Nose: Spice, citrus, smoke, milk chocolate.
Palate: Smooth herby arrival, pine, heather, ginger beer and huge spice notes. Nice!
Finish: Lingering spice.
Killara Batch 1 2yo Ex-port @ 49% (xxx bottles)
My thoughts:
Appearance: Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Musty bookshop, toffee, vanilla, banana bread, strawberries and some strange cheese notes!
Palate: Sweet caramel arrival, berry fruit, tropical fruit, ginger spice. Nice!
Finish: Long warm berry notes with spicy oak and vanilla.
Fleurieu Batch 1 3yo Ex-sherry @ 49.5% (239 bottles)
I didn't have a sample of this one to try but other people liked the sherry notes.
Starward Batch 1 3yo Re-charred Red Wine @ 56% (424 bottles)
My thoughts:
Appearance: Dark gold, almost bronze, swirls cling as thing lines, slowly form beads and fall as slow thick legs..
Nose: Cinder toffee, foam bananas, Diam bars.
Palate: Thick mouthcoating toffee, cream soda, sherry notes - fried fruit and strawberry jam.
Finish: Lingering berry and toffee notes.
Black Gate Batch 1 3yo Ex-bourbon @ 46% (231 bottles)
My thoughts:
Appearance: Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Liquorice, blackberries, Ribena, hint of smoke..
Palate: Sweet oily arrival, toffee, strawberry jam, berries, dark chocolate. Yummy!
Finish: Lingering dark berries and a hint of smoke
Tin Shed Batch 1 3yo Australian Tawny Port with 1 year Pinot Gris finish @ 48% (433 bottles)
My thoughts:
Appearance: Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose: Milk chocolate, .tropical fruit, smoke and toffee, bay leaves / herbs
Palate: Thick berry fruit arrival, tar, rubber, filthy in the Ledaig style, black cherries. Yummy!
Finish: Long lingering toffee and berries.
Riverbourne Batch 1 3yo Ex-bourbon @ 49.8% (309 bottles)
My thoughts:
Appearance: Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: Red liquorice, berries, pipe smoke, balsamic vinegar.
Palate: Thick sweet arrival, strawberry jam, dark chocolate, berry fruit. Nice!
Finish: Long lingering fruity dark chocolate.
Bakery Hill Batch 1 5yo Peated ex-bourbon @ 50% (309 bottles)
I didn't have a sample of this one to try but other people liked the peat smoke notes.
Overall:
I didn't know that there were this many distilleries in Australia! There are quite a few more, lots of little craft distilleries with very small outputs. The Australian heat speeds up maturation so although all of these were very young whiskies you couldn't really tell. I was impressed with all of them but the Black gate and Tin Shed stood out.
Many thanks to Ros at @AtomBrands from the samples and Dave for leading the tasting!
That Boutique-y Whisky Company Australia Series Lineup:
Black Gate 3YO Single Malt - £109.95
Belgrove 4YO Rye - £139.95
Tin Shed 3YO Single Malt - £99.95
Fleurieu 3YO Single Malt - £99.95
Killara 2YO Single Malt - £169.95
Riverbourne 3YO Single Malt - £99.95
Starward 3YO Single Malt - £69.95
Bakery Hill 5YO Single Malt - £138.95
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