Old Master Spirits 1961 Vintage 64 Year Old Cognac Review!

How do you follow up an incredible 100-year old cognac? Unfortunately we'll just have to settle for an incredible 64-year old cognac instead... What a struggle this'll be!

Just as we have legendary vintages in Scotch whisky - 1996 Ben Nevis, 1970s Brora, and 1970s Ardbeg, for example - so does cognac. Maybe even more so in fact, since in brandy those vintages and their reputations are based around the growing conditions for, and quality of, that year's grape harvests, rather than production factors. Obviously a cognac dating back to 1961 is already a ridiculously rare thing here in 2026, but 1961 vintage brandies are particularly highly-regarded and sought after for two main reasons. The first of these reasons isn't as romantic as you might expect; it's because the governing body around cognac, the BNIC, banned single vintage statements on cognac in that year up until until 1988, so 1961 was the last year that a cognac could carry a single vintage on its labelling until that rule was overturned in 1988. Apparently there were historic workarounds if the cognac wasn't bottled in France, but contemporarily that practice is closely monitored by the BNIC. This is why Old Master Spirits uses the V.XX on most of their labelling, rather than explicitly naming a vintage. The other reason for the 1961 vintage being so highly regarded is more like what you'd expect, except in this case the conditions weren't so favourable for the fruit itself! We're talking about a cold spring and a hot & dry summer stressing the fruit and concentrating the juice & flavours within, and hot conditions around harvest time ensuring that the fruit was fully ripe. While these conditions mean lower yields from the vines, it also means concentrated flavours in the grapes and high quality in the resulting wines - apparently 1961 vintage Bordeaux red wines are also legendary - and brandies. 

The 1961 vintage cognac that we're looking at here is yet another amazing single cask find from Deni & David at Melbourne's Old Master Spirits; a 64-year old single cask cognac from family-owned cognac house Peyrot. If memory serves this is the third bottling that Old Master have sourced from Peyrot, and also the oldest so far. The previous bottlings were a 55-year old and a 63-year old though, which is obviously nothing to sniff at! Peyrot is located in the Grande Champagne Cru of the Cognac region, considered the best of the six cognac cru (sub-regions) as far as growing conditions and terroir, roughly 90-minutes north of Bordeaux in south-western France. The 25ha vineyard is known as "Les Bergeronnettes", a.k.a. "The Wagtails", and has been producing cognac on site since 1957. The Peyrot vineyard has been under family ownership since 1893 and is currently owned by Mathilde Peyrot, the fourth generation descendent of the founder. Mathilde distilled this cognac herself back in 1961! 

This 1961 vintage Peyrot cognac was distilled from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes that were grown on the Peyrot vines which date back to 1928. It was fully matured in a French oak cask for a whopping 64-years before being bottled at a cask strength of 43.8% ABV, and is of course non-chill filtered, natural colour, and without additives. As with the other brandies bottled by Old Master Spirits, that age statement doesn't include any time spent in glass demijohns, only the time spent in French oak. The single cask yielded just 162 x 500ml bottles, so 81-litres remaining from what I'd assume was a 225-litre barrique, although that's to be expected after 64-years sleeping in a cellar! As we've come to expect from Old Master, the value for money here is amazing. We're looking at $359 AUD for a 500ml bottle at a cask strength of 43.8% ABV, and that's a 1961 vintage 64-year old single cask cognac! Any whisky of a similar age would be a ridiculous price, let alone a single cask of single malt. The release date is June 25th - today, at the time of publishing - and bottles can be purchased here. The previous Old Master release, a 100-year old cognac, sold out in a few minutes, so I wouldn't wait too long for this 64-year old either. Let's see how it goes!

1961 Vintage 64 Year Old Peyrot Cognac, Old Master Spirits, 43.8%. Cognac, France.

Distilled 1961 from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes, matured for 64-years in French oak cask, bottled at cask strength. Non-chill filtered, natural colour, 162 x 500ml bottles. Released 25th June 2026.

Colour: Rich copper. 

Nose: Rich & decadent, dessert in a glass. Cherries in spiced syrup, rich butterscotch sauce, toffee pudding, and melted vanilla ice cream. Some bitter orange peel and powdered ginger. Touch of icing sugar around the edges. 

Texture: Light-medium weight. Richly flavoured for the ABV, but remarkably easy drinking. No heat whatsoever. 

Taste: Delicious. Still dessert-like, with Eaton mess (dessert made with berries, sugar, whipped cream, and meringue), honeycomb, and butterscotch sauce. More cherries in spiced syrup, touches of grated ginger, and sweetened black tea. 

Finish: Medium-long length. More cherries, sweetened black tea, ginger, and butterscotch sauce. Oak spices come through alongside blackberry jam and melted vanilla ice cream. Slight leafy herbal touches and tea leaves to finish. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. 

Notes: "Dessert in a glass" seems to mean over-sweet, or cloying, or over-decadent to some. But in this case it's more about delicious fruit, vanilla, and rich dessert sauces with just the right amount of sweetness. This sweetness also helps keep the oak and tannins at bay, often an issue with older brandies that have spent so long in French oak, making this a very delicious and ridiculously easy-drinking cognac. At 64-years of age it has a great freshness and balance to it, while still giving that rich fruitiness and spice. Ticks all the boxes for a dessert brandy, and carries one hell of an age statement as well! Value for money with these old cognacs and armagnacs really is tough to beat, and $359 for a 64-year old anything is exceptional pricing here in 2026. Especially for a single cask, cask strength cognac from a reputable producer in the premier area in the Cognac region. A 1961 vintage spirit of any sort can't get much more affordable than this! 

The guys at Old Master certainly seem to know what they're doing, and they have plenty of runs on the board now. There are plenty of wins on that board too, now including this one! Thanks to Deni & David for the sample for this review, and for continuing to bring delicious and great value brandies to Australia.

Cheers!

Kanosuke Distillery Festival 2025 Whisky Review!

My first Kanosuke review! This one was bottled for the distillery's festival in 2025, and a good mate shared a sample from his souvenir bottle. It's been a while since I've featured anything Japanese, and this shochu cask Kanosuke is very, very Japanese!

Kanosuke Distillery (pronounced "can-osk-ay") is in the Kagoshima Prefecture (region) of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands. The distillery was built in 2017 right by a 50km-long beach on the island's west coast near the town of Hioki, around 1,300km south-west of Tokyo, requiring a 2-hour flight from Tokyo (Haneda) to Kagoshima Airport, then an hour's drive west to the distillery. Being closer to Taiwan than it is to Tokyo, this is a warmer area than most of Japan with temperatures & humidity getting quite high, although being under 100m from the East China Sea does give some relief from the conditions further inland. Despite being founded in November 2017 Kanosuke is quickly becoming one of the leading "new breed" Japanese malt whisky distilleries, and is one of the "proper" Japanese malt whisky distilleries making authentic Japanese whisky, including being a member of the voluntary JSLMA agreements on regulations surrounding Japanese whisky. Kanosuke attracted a minority investment from Diageo's Distill Ventures back in 2021, much like Australia's Starward, Denmark's Stauning, and America's Westward, although Diageo has since withdrawn that support worldwide and the distilleries are mostly back under private ownership. As with the other distilleries involved, that investment did help Kanosuke start exporting to the US and increase their product range. The Australian importer for Kanosuke is Melbourne's Casa De Vinos, who also bring us Japanese single malts Chichibu and Akkeshi, and recently became the importer for Thompson Bros independent bottlings. 

The company behind Kanosuke was founded in 1883 and produces shochu, a Japanese spirit typically made from rice, sweet potato, or barley, fermented with koji mould and traditionally only single-distilled in pot stills. In 1957 the Master Distiller named Kanosuke Komasa - whom the whisky distillery was named after - became the first producer to barrel-age shochu and created a new category in the spirit, which would come in handy 60-years later as all Kanosuke single malts are initially aged in re-charred ex-shochu casks. Kanosuke uses both unpeated and peated malted barley, although the majority of production is unpeated. Both are fermented for 96-hours in stainless steel washbacks, and there are three copper pot stills, one wash and two spirit, each with a differently-angled lyne arm. All three stills are fitted with traditional worm tub condensers, which is common in shochu distillation but is very uncommon in Japanese whisky - most producers are looking for the lighter and cleaner character given by more modern shell & tube condensers, rather than the heavier, meatier, and more sulphurous character given by worm tubs. The warmer climate on Kyushu helps boost the maturation and interactions between the spirit and the cask, which is crucial for the removal of any undesired sulphur, and the distillery is aiming for a "mellow" flavour profile across their range. As mentioned above, generally Kanosuke single malts will spend 6-24 months in re-charred ex-shochu casks before being transferred to ex-bourbon or ex-sherry casks for the remaining maturation, but there are a number of other cask types in the warehouses, from IPA beer to sweet fortified wine, among others. As with most Japanese whisky producers a number of different styles of whisky are produced in-house by the parent company, from single grains, to blends of grain & malt, to both peated and unpeated single malts. The Komasa company owns a second distillery in nearby Hioki which primarily produces grain whisky from 90% unmalted barley and 10% malted barley that is distilled in stainless steel pot stills, the product of which is labelled as Hioki Pot Still with a similar interpretation to an Irish pot still whiskey. This Hioki grain whisky is also blended with Kanosuke malt whisky to create their Double Distillery product, similar to what Chichibu does with their Double Distillery blended malt which was a blend of malts from Chichibu and Hanyu in the past, but is now a blend of malts from Chichibu and Chichibu II. 

The Kanosuke we're looking at today is a single cask bottled for the distillery's festival in 2025, which is an unpeated single malt distilled in January 2020 and bottled in October 2025 at 56.0% ABV. It was fully matured in ex-shochu casks, both re-charred and non-re-charred, of 450-litre capacity. This is an unusual cask treatment even among Japanese single malts, let alone worldwide. Since this is a single cask bottling I'm assuming it was initially matured in the re-charred casks as is the standard operating procedure for Kanosuke, then moved into a non-re-charred cask for the remainder of its 5-years of maturation. Most Kanosuke expressions would only spend 6-24 months in shochu casks before being moved to a more conventional cask type, and this is my first time tasting a whisky fully matured in ex-shochu casks. I have to admit the one time I tried shochu itself I wasn't really a fan, but that's like trying one whisky and saying that you're not a fan of the entire category, and not being a big fan of a the previous occupant of a cask doesn't mean you won't like the whisky that the same cask creates! As for the influence of the shochu casks in this whisky, and in Kanosuke's whiskies in general, supposedly they add some sweetness and white peach flavours, while the re-charring adds more sweetness and wood influence. Regardless it's a unique selling point that allows Kanosuke to take advantages of the parent company's casks, and this distillery festival bottling being fully matured in those casks makes it pretty unique! Let's see how it goes.

Kanosuke Festival 2025, 5-years old, 56.0%. Kagoshima, Japan.

Unpeated, distilled 2020, fully matured in re-charred & non re-charred ex-shochu casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 600 bottles. 

Colour: Amber. 

Nose: Fruity, floral, malty. Fresh green pears, crunchy malted barley, touch of honey. Champagne (bubbles and all), candied lemon peel, touch of wood smoke. Becomes more malty as it breathes, with sprite (lemonade), apricot pie, and vanilla custard. 

Texture: Medium weight. Fresh, crunchy, clean, malty. Very slight heat. 

Taste: Fizzy (effervescent), malty, fresh. More sprite (lemonade), green pears, and crunchy malted barley. Lemon peel, maybe even yuzu? But doesn't seem as sweet. Black pepper, and a touch of charred wood. 

Finish: Medium length. Milk bottle lollies (think chewy vanilla), touch of honey, and a lightly bitter herbal note that is hard to pin down. Lemon juice, charred wood, and malted barley to finish. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Lovely light, clean, fresh whisky, with plenty of flavour & texture! Certainly seems to stick out as a "crunchy" textured whisky, particularly with the malty aspect, which is quite odd but very enjoyable! Most of the Kanosuke I've tried to date has had significant sherry cask influence, so it's great to finally try a more spirit-driven example with less cask influence. And this is definitely how I prefer their whiskies, showing the distillery character more. This is a very summery, easy-drinking whisky that doesn't sacrifice flavour or texture, with some interesting touches of acidity (sourness) and those fizzy & bitter notes that are quite unusual but very enjoyable! Could possibly be the ex-shochu casks showing through, but I haven't had enough shochu to be able to confirm either way. I definitely do prefer this expression to some of the sherry finished / sherry influenced Kanosuke that I've tried, which had too much cask influence for my personal preference. I'm also yet to try a peated example, so will have to put my feelers out for one of those!

Definitely seems like Kanosuke is coming into their own with this sort of exclusive release, doing things differently from other Japanese producers without going too far off the path. It's great to see another of the "new breed" of Japanese distilleries hitting their stride!

Cheers!

Old Master Spirits 100 Year Old Cognac Review!

Yes, that's right, 100 years old! More of a "very, very old" master if you ask me! A Grande Champagne Cognac that has spent an entire century maturing in French oak, bottled to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Old Master Spirits. What a find, and what an incredible achievement!

A 100-year old cognac! An entire century spent maturing in French oak. This single cask brandy was sitting in an underground cellar in the Cognac region of France since the early 1920s, not long after the end of World War I, until it was plucked from the shadows by Melbourne's Old Master Spirits. This small independent bottling operation is quickly becoming Australia's primary source for quality aged brandies, among other spirits and other drinks. Previous brandy bottlings from Old Master have included 51, 55, and 63-year old cognacs, a 48-year old armagnac, and the oldest so far; a 79-year old cognac that was distilled in 1945! Now they've really excelled themselves with this latest discovery, a 100-year old single cask cognac selected & bottled to commemorate their fifth anniversary. Makes me wonder what they'll be coming up with for the tenth anniversary! It's a monumental achievement for anything to survive to 100-years of age, whether that be a human being, a car, a company, or a cask of cognac. The risks associated with maturing a cask of any spirit for so long are significant, with the more obvious risks evaporation and/or leaking, both of which are exacerbated by using an old cask. Then we have the issue of wood influence, with a century spent in a wooden vessel there will always be flavours imparted from the wood. But if you can carefully manage these two points, the crucial issue then becomes the alcoholic strength; if it drops below the minimum 40% ABV required for it to be bottled as cognac (and the same applies to Scotch whisky). All of these risks have to be very carefully managed and conditions monitored for a cask of any spirit to "go the distance" and reach any advanced age, let alone a mind-blowing 100-years!

In whisky terms, nobody has come close to this sort of age yet. The oldest single malt Scotch whisky to date is an 85-year old Glenlivet that was bottled in 2025 by independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail, and that carried a retail price tag of £125,000 in Britain or $260,000 AUD here in Australia. Now, to be fair, that is roughly $50,000 cheaper than the previous record holder for oldest single malt; an 84-year old official bottling of Macallan, and while I'm sure it's an incredible whisky that's a ridiculous sum of money, and bottles are still available over 6-months after the initial release. One can only speculate what a 100-year old single malt would sell for in another 10-15 years' time, but it's safe to say that you wouldn't expect change from $300,000 in the current climate. With that in mind, what would you expect a bottle of this 100-year old single cask cognac to be selling for in Australia? For reference, there are only 42 x 500ml bottles available, and it was bottled at a natural cask strength of 46.6% ABV rather than diluting to the minimum 40% ABV to squeeze a couple of extra bottles from the cask for higher return on investment. So it must be ridiculously expensive, right? In fairness, cognac isn't as "luxurious" or "collectable" as a single malt Scotch whisky, but surely just 10% of the price of that 85-year old single malt - $26,000 AUD - would be a fair guess. Well guess again! This single cask 100-year old cognac from Old Master Spirits, in a 500ml bottle at a cask strength of 46.6%, is retailing for just $1,399 AUD. That's roughly 0.5% of the price of a bottle of that 85-year old Glenlivet. In terms of value for money, for that $1,400 you could buy a single 3.5ml share of that 85-year old single malt (BYO diamond-studded dropper for application), or you could buy a whole 500ml bottle of this 100-year old cognac. That is a seriously, seriously good deal! Leaving the world of spirits for a second, a different sort of alcoholic drink is more commonly seen at this sort of age; tawny fortified wine, a.k.a Australian port. A 100-year old 1926 vintage tawny from the famous Seppeltsfield Winery in the Barossa Valley is currently available for $1,850 AUD. It's a fortified wine not a spirit, the alcoholic strength is less than half, and it's a completely different drink, but that's a lot closer to this sort of price level. Except it isn't, because that $1,850 100-year old tawny is only available in a 100ml bottle! So you'd need to buy five of those to equal the liquid volume of Old Master's 100-year old cognac, which would then cost you $9,250 AUD. Have I made my point? $1,399 is a serious deal people! 

This 100-year old cognac from Old Master Spirits was sourced from Famille Cabanne, a family-owned cognac & spirit producer that was established in 1810! The family can trace their roots back to 1686, and the company is still headquartered in the original family home and distillery in Bourg-Charente in the heart of the Cognac region of southern France, roughly 500km south of Paris. Cabanne also produce whisky, rum, vodka, gin, and pineau des charentes fortified wines. Cabanne are located in the Grand Champagne Cru of the Cognac region, the top-ranked growing area in the cognac DOC, basically the region's geographical best of the best in terms of growing conditions. This Old Master Spirits cognac was distilled from 100% ugni blanc white grapes, known as one of the most suitable grape varieties for brandy. It was distilled in the early 1920s in the direct-fired (heated by flame from below) copper brandy still pictured above, which is on historical display at the Cabanne Distillery. This cognac was "distilled on lees" which is a brandy term meaning that the wine was not filtered before going into the still for distillation. This leaves grape must, spent yeast, and other heavier particles in the wine throughout the distillation process, giving more texture & character to the spirit, especially when combined with direct heating. This 100-year old Famille Cabanne cognac then spent an entire century in refill French oak that was coopered by Seguin Moreau, one of the premier cooperages in the Cognac region, and it has not spent time in glass vessels (demijohns) which could legally be included in the age statement. After bottling at the natural cask strength of 46.6% ABV, the cask yielded just 42 x 500ml bottles, or 21-litres of 100-year old cognac! Naturally it is non-chill filtered and natural colour, and unlike some cognacs there are no additives involved here. This Old Master Spirits bottling is being released on the 30th of April 2026 at 7pm AEST, and you can register your interest via this link. Let's get to the review... Excitingly, this is far & away the oldest spirit that I've ever tasted, and I can't thank Deni & David at Old Master enough! 

Old Master Spirits 100-Year Old Famille Cabanne Cognac, 46.6%. Cognac, France. 

Distilled start of 1920s, fully matured in French oak, bottled November 2025 at cask strength. Non-chill filtered, natural colour, no additives. 42 x 500ml bottles. 

Colour: Bronze. 

Nose: Rich, sweet, velvety. Black cherry jam, ripe peach & apricot, cinnamon & clove. Hazelnuts & walnuts, rich dark chocolate ganache. Orange peel, soft leather, raisins, tea leaves. Touches of sandalwood & cologne. Dried woody herbs (sage?) around the edges. 

Texture: Medium weight. Rich, silky, velvety soft. No heat whatsoever. 

Taste: Rich, sweet, soft, lightly acidic, very fruity. Dark chocolate ganache, raisins, and a little furniture polish. Then beautiful under-ripe mango, white peach, apricot, and a little orange peel. Slight touch of woody herbs (sage, aniseed). Raisins in toffee sauce, and black cherry ice cream (slight creamy vanilla). 

Finish: Long length. Under-ripe mango and apricot carry through, with white peach & black cherry following. More raisins, soft leather, toffee, and furniture polish. Spices return with cinnamon, clove, sandalwood. Dried woody herbs - sage and aniseed - in the background. 

Score: 5 out of 5. 

Notes: Just fantastic. What an experience! There's so much depth & complexity here in such an old spirit, without even a hint of it becoming fragile, or muted, or tannic, or over-oaked - which could easily have happened after 100+ years in French oak! Those bright tropical fruit notes are delicious, adding a bit of freshness & acidity on the palate despite the (very) advanced age. For the price tag here, again for a 100-year old single cask brandy at cask strength, this Famille Cabanne cognac gets a resounding "yes" from me! For something of this age, provenance, rarity, and quality, to have come to Australia is quite incredible. Well done Old Master Spirits for securing this very special cask, and for landing it here at a very reasonable price point. Big congrats on the fifth anniversary!

Massive thanks to Deni & David for the sample for this review. A 100-year old cognac! What an incredible experience. Don't miss this one folks!

Cheers!

Ardbeg 10 Cask Strength Whisky Review!

The first cask strength Ardbeg 10 Year Old Since 2008's Renaissance! Are the distillery's corporate overlords finally listening to Ardbeg fans? Maybe they've eased off on the Zoom meetings and let the distillery team take the reins for once! 

The Ardbeg that many of us thought would never happen. The first Ardbeg in many years that the purists will approve of, and a reasonably priced one at that. No gimmicks, no marketing rubbish, no cask finishing or messing with the formula. No dilution, and no shenanigans. A straight-shooting, no-nonsense, cask strength 10-year old Ardbeg. This is exactly what distillery fans have been begging for for over a decade now. Did the marketing department finally run out of ideas for their limited releases? After publishing whisky "graphic novels", dressing-up the distillery staff for social media, and encouraging gambling by endorsing cryptocurrency, all while lowering ABVs and raising prices, the cynic in me would say it's possible. But the Ardbeg supporter in me says that they've finally listened to their fans and have given us what we've been asking for. Or maybe both of my personalities are wrong and they actually saw the current downturn coming before most, realising they had to cut the bullshit and give us a good whisky at a decent price or they'd be continue to be left behind. Regardless of the reasons, they've done it, and it's here! Ardbeg 10-year old at natural cask strength. The cask strength version is matured in ex-bourbon casks, presumably a mix of both refill and first-fill like the standard 10-year old at 46%, but with an interesting point of difference; some of those casks were filled at a higher strength than usual. While Ardbeg typically dilute their new make spirit to 63.5% ABV before filling it into casks, the standard filling strength in the industry, this time they didn't dilute the new make at all, filling into cask at 71% ABV. This changes the interaction between the spirit and the wood, resulting in a slightly different flavour profile at the end of maturation, but it also means a higher than usual ABV at the end of maturation, all other things being equal. In this case after 10-years the whisky weighed in at 61.7% ABV, which is very high for an Ardbeg official bottling - the highest ABV I can recall tasting was the 2010 Supernova which was 60.1%, and that's over 15-years ago now! Some of their single casks do get higher, but their price tags mean they don't count here. Hopefully it goes without saying that a higher strength doesn't automatically make a whisky better, in fact some are too hot, too harsh, and too aggressive without dilution. And given the undiluted filling strength in this one, that was a cause for slight concern...

Overall, cask strength Islay single malts are easy to find. There are a myriad of options out there. But if you discount independent bottlings and focus purely on official bottlings, that changes things. And if you want reasonably priced examples that are relatively easy to obtain, which crosses the high-end "luxury goods" releases and most of the festival bottlings & distillery exclusives off the list, the options are surprisingly few. Laphroaig have been releasing their 10 Year Old Cask Strength for many years, even the numbered batches - which "only" started in 2009 - are now up to batch 17, although the "10CS" wasn't officially imported into Australia until relatively recently. Kilchoman sporadically release a Machir Bay Cask Strength based on their main core range single malt, generally every couple of years. Bunnahabhain added a cask strength version of their 12-year old back in 2022, which is now on its third batch. But who else? Bowmore is a definite no - you'll be lucky to find anything bottled above 43% ABV in their core range. Bruichladdich then? Surprisingly no. While you could argue that the Octomore bottlings are close enough, they don't meet our reasonable price criteria since they start at $250 AUD for a 5-year old whisky released in large quantities. Ardnahoe have released a cask strength expression and it is reasonably priced overseas, but there is no official importer for Ardnahoe in Australia so we can't call that easy to obtain. Diageo won't give us anything above 43% ABV in their official bottlings of Caol Ila, unless you spring for one of their annual special releases or travel to the distillery itself, but neither option meets the reasonable price criteria these days. The same goes for Lagavulin, with the sole exception being the 8-year old at 48% ABV which became the Islay fans Lagavulin of choice after Diageo went insane with the pricing of the venerable 16-year old. So from nine active malt whisky distilleries on Islay (not including the recently reopened Port Ellen, which will never be reasonably priced) there are three cask strength official bottlings that are regularly/readily available in Australia at a reasonable price. Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength, Bunnahabhain 12 Cask Strength, and Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength. That's it. Thank god for the independent bottlers...

But now, finally, there's an argument that an official bottling of Ardbeg should be added to the list. It's not a definite addition yet because so far this is a one-off, although we're all hoping it won't stay that way. So let's call it a temporary addition to the list, for now. Either way I'd started to think it would never happen, so even a one-off is still a win. A cask strength Ardbeg 10! Ex-bourbon casks, natural cask strength of 61.7% ABV, no added colouring and non-chill filtered. Even better, it was $155 here in Australia, and it sold out very quickly, i.e. in less than a day - which has not been the case with any special release Ardbegs for quite some time. Let's get to it!

Ardbeg 10yo Cask Strength, 2026 Committee Release, 61.7%. Islay, Scotland.

Colour: Medium gold. 

Nose: Big & bold, rich & oily, very peaty! Big dry earthy peat, hot tar, ashy smoke, charcoal, and hot embers. Drying seaweed, sea salt, over-salted caramel fudge, salted limes, and creamy vanilla wafer biscuits. Burning leafy herbs, and dark chocolate biscuits. Slight touches of aniseed, clean fresh earth (dirt), dried lemon peel, and salt-laden driftwood. 

Texture: Heavy weight. Rich, oily, creamy, peaty. Very little heat for the high ABV, drinks more like a mid-50% whisky!

Taste: Powerfully peaty, salty, sweet, creamy. Big dry earthy peatiness, big pinch of sea salt, BBQ-charred tinned pineapple, creamy vanilla wafer biscuits, and salted caramel fudge. Burning leafy herbs, drying seaweed, salted lime, dark chocolate malt biscuits again. Slight touches of plum BBQ sauce & aniseed in the background. 

Finish: Very long length. Never-ending peatiness. Hot tar & embers, sea salt, seaweed, driftwood, salted lime, and burning leafy herbs. Dark chocolate biscuits, BBQ-charred tinned pineapple, creamy vanilla, and more salted caramel fudge. Touches of plum BBQ sauce and dried lemon peel underneath the peat & tar. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Absolutely delicious, and without doubt my favourite new Ardbeg official bottling in a long time - probably since Ardbog in 2013, or at least since Dark Cove in 2016. This cask strength Ardbeg 10 has a massive peaty punch that doesn't quit, but with the classic Ardbeg sweetness, saltiness, and creaminess, that we all love. It may not be the most complex whisky out there, and you're going to need to love peat & smoke, but this cask strength Ardbeg 10 is ticking a lot of boxes. This is pure unadulterated essence of Ardbeg, and pure essence of Islay. We've asked, pleaded, and begged, and after years of misses and ridiculous marketing, they've finally delivered. And at an extremely reasonable price no less, lower than many of us expected. We can't really ask for anything more!

Almost unbeatable for value for money here in 2026, especially in Australia. A cask strength Islay with an age statement, a high ABV, and a natural & spirit-driven presentation is becoming harder to find under $200 AUD these days, let alone under $160. Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength wasn't available here by official channels for over a decade, until it reappeared last year, but it sits around the $180-200 mark on our shelves. The ABV is generally lower as well, around the 58%-mark depending on the batch, which obviously doesn't mean anything regarding quality or enjoyment, but it does mean that Beam Suntory are paying less alcohol excise / tax. Ardbeg are going to win back a lot of fans with this one, while gaining some new ones. The future is looking brighter for this distillery now - let's just hope they keep it up!

Cheers!

Kilkerran Cage Bottle Whisky Reviews!

Two Kilkerran rarities! Two different 14-year old distillery exclusive single cask "cage bottlings", one from an ex-bourbon cask and one from a rum cask, both from the slightly newer cage that is now housed in Springbank's own shop.

Cage bottles from Springbank's stables just don't seem to miss. As with all whiskies some are better (or much better) than others, but I've never come across one that has been anything less than great. These properly distillery exclusive bottlings changed quite a bit during the pandemic, but they're still mysterious and still little-known in the wider whisky world. Originally these cage bottles were one-off cask samples drawn from casks that the distillery staff earmarked as particularly special and/or different from the norm, so no two cage bottlings were the same and each was irreplaceable. During the pandemic however, a change in approach saw these switch to single cask bottlings where the entire cask is bottled as a cage bottling. The labels still contain the same basic and cryptic information, they're still titled "Duty Paid Sample", and the bottles still have the J&A Mitchell neck tag with the bottling date and the signature of the person who selected the cask. The easiest way to tell whether you have a pre- or post-change cage bottling is one basic change to the label - the original one-off cask sample labels were all hand-written, while the post-change single cask bottlings are digitally printed. The cage itself has also moved from out the back of the Cadenhead's shop in Campbeltown, to the Springbank distillery shop. While you could argue that these changes make cage bottles a little less exclusive and less unique, when it comes to the actual whisky it certainly doesn't make them any less delicious! 

At the same time the "living cask" vats of hand-filled bottlings shifted from Cadenhead's to the shop at Springbank, the labels were prettied up a bit and changed to "hand filled distillery exclusive". They're still exactly the same as the "living cask" bottlings though, where there's one vat for each of J&A Mitchell's single malt brands; Springbank, Hazelburn, Longrow, and Kilkerran, and they're constantly topped up with bottles / vessels of each brand at various ages and cask types. Still single malts, but a mix of ages and casks, meaning that they're never the same from one day to the next. These simple but clever changes have seen the demand for these "hand fills" skyrocket, and they're now far more popular than they ever were in their previous guise - to the point where they're constantly being flipped at auction rather than being passed over. 

Which is something that has always applied to their rarer and much more valuable siblings. Kilkerran is far less "flippable" than any of the Springbank stable, even less so than Hazelburn and Longrow which already fly under the radar of most "investors" and resellers. While both Springbank and Kilkerran are owned by the same company, J&A Mitchell, Kilkerran is produced at Glengyle Distillery, roughly 100m down the road from Springbank Distillery. The single malt produced at Glengyle Distillery is branded as Kilkerran, derived from the Gaelic name of the original settlement that would eventually become Campbeltown; Kilkerran roughly meaning "Church of St. Kiaran" in English. The brand name Glengyle was already owned by another company when J&A Mitchell opened Glengyle Distillery, so they had to come up with an alternative name for its single malt products. Glengyle Distillery originally ran from 1872 to 1925, and was founded by one of the brothers who opened Springbank Distillery in 1828. Crucially the current Glengyle wasn't an entirely new distillery named one that had closed down, it was actually rebuilt in the original distillery buildings, although those buildings had plenty of other purposes and occupants over the 79-years that passed between the distillery closing in 1925 and reopening in 2004. 

Having only made two trips to Scotland so far, and with the most recent being over seven years ago now, the second cage bottle that we're looking at here was sourced from the auctions. An Australian auction site no less, and this seems to be the only Kilkerran cage bottle that has ever appeared on that particular auction site. Personally I cannot comprehend selling something like this for profit, being a proper rarity, and presumably without ever trying the whisky itself, and presumably being a souvenir from a trip to one of Scotland's more remote whisky destinations - Campbeltown is more removed from the rest of Scotland than a glance at a map may lead you to believe! But I shouldn't complain about reselling in this particular case, since it's the reason that I was able to buy, open, enjoy, and share this Kilkerran cage bottle, without physically travelling to Scotland. 

On to the reviews! The first Kilkerran cage bottle we're looking at was a sample from a friend who organised a Kilkerran virtual tasting, and is a 14-year old cage bottle from a single first-fill ex-bourbon cask, distilled in May 2009 and bottled in March 2024 at 56.9% ABV. The second is a 14-year old cage bottle from a refill rum cask, distilled in April 2010 and bottled in September 2024 at 59.3% ABV. A rum cask Kilkerran is quite rare on its own, let alone a cage bottle from a refill rum cask, so I couldn't resist nabbing it. Both are of course non-chill filtered and natural colour. Let's see how they go! 

Kilkerran 14 Year Old Cage Bottle Ex-Bourbon, 56.9%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Distilled May 2009, matured in single first-fill ex-bourbon cask, bottled March 2024. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Sweet, fruity, salty, and a bit nippy & aggressive. Aged cheddar cheese, the hard & crumbly sort with the salt crystals forming. Sweetened grapefruit peels, sea salt, and juicy honeyed malted barley. Touch of candle wax & soft peat smoke, thickened vanilla cream, salted lime. Touches of stone fruit around the edges. 

Texture: Medium weight. Oily, creamy, malty. Significant alcohol heat. 

Taste: More aged cheddar cheese, creamy vanilla, candle wax, and sea salt. Grapefruit peel, soft peat smoke, olive oil, and slight touches of greasy old rags & mechanic's workshop floor. Those notes do taste better than they sound, believe me! 

Finish: Long length. Still a little hot & aggressive unfortunately, but I wouldn't say rough and certainly not unpleasant. Grapefruit peels, candle wax, and soft peat smoke. Slightly floral around the edges. Crunchy malted barley & sea salt to finish. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Very enjoyable, just "essence of Kilkerran" as you'd expect, and there's nothing wrong with that. That spirit-y heat is a little disappointing and distracting though, but there is enough flavour behind to pull it all together. Those cheesy, oily, salty, and grapefruit notes are very Kilkerran, and they're delicious. This isn't the full parmesan cheese / butyric acid style of lactic note that can tip over into sour milk territory, it's more a crumbly, mature cheddar with a bit of saltiness to it. Kilkerran may not get as dirty, funky, or grungy as Springbank, but it still has some funk in its step!

Kilkerran 14 Year Old Cage Bottle Ex-Rum, 59.3%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Distilled April 2010, matured in single refill ex-rum cask, bottled September 2024. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Fruity, sweet, and funky! Some petrol & browning bananas from the rum cask, plus brown sugar and wooden cigar box. Touches of old leather & furniture polish. Aged cheddar, grapefruit, and sea salt poking through. Caramel cheesecake, and damp spent barley (draff). 

Texture: Medium weight. Oily, rich, funky, malty. Slight touch of heat. 

Taste: Rum funk meets Campbeltown oiliness & saltiness. Sweet & salty. Brown sugar, pecan pie, mushed bananas on burnt toast, thick caramel sauce. Malty, sweet pastry, and brown butter notes. 

Finish: Long length. The rum cask carries through with petrol, brown sugar, and thick caramel. Pecan pie, brown butter, grapefruit peel, and cheddar cheese, with a pinch of sea salt. 

Score: 4 out of 5. Close to a 4.5. 

Notes: Delicious! Great balance of rum cask influence without it overwhelming the spirit - that's because it's a refill cask of course, but there's still plenty of impact - whatever that first whisky filling was, it must've copped a hiding from the rum! This is almost a dessert dram, but not in an overly sweet or syrupy way, there's just loads of richness with caramel, pastry, and dessert tart sort of notes that make this a very moreish whisky. I'm guessing this refill rum cask originally held Jamaican rum, or at least something pretty estery from the Caribbean, and it's worked very well with the lighter funk of the Kilkerran spirit. Great dram, and a great example of what the distillery cage bottles have to offer - if you're lucky!

Cheers!

Hellyers Road 20 Year Old Whisky Review!

A 20-year old single ex-bourbon cask from Tasmania's Hellyers Road, who have executed a perfect 180 in the last few years. This particular cask will win fans of rock band The Presidents of the United States for one simple reason: millions of peaches!

Tropical fruit notes in whisky is a complex topic. The more commonly found varieties of pineapple, banana, and coconut (yes, coconut is a fruit!), can show at early ages and can be influenced by casks - good quality ex-bourbon, sauternes, and rum casks, for example, can bring out these notes relatively quickly, as can fermentation methods. But the more elusive notes of peach, melon, mango, passionfruit, and lychee, tend to more influenced by age and often require significant ageing of multiple decades to show. Of course, that time must also be spent in right cask. While there are exceptions, the main whiskies one would reach for when looking for this sort of flavour profile would be older Scotch whiskies or Irish whiskies / whiskeys, typically single malts aged for 25-30 years or beyond in refill ex-bourbon casks. Irish single malts can become very fruity when they reach this sort of age, particularly independent bottlings from Cooley Distillery which "only" distils twice rather than the triple distillation typically associated with Irish whiskies / whiskeys, although Irish pot still whiskeys can take this turn as well; particularly Redbreast 21 and Redbreast 27-year old in my experience, despite the latter carrying a lot of (too much!) port cask influence. When turning to Scotland in search of this tropical fruit profile you'll typically want a Speysider - older vintages of Benriach, Glenburgie, Glenlivet, or Tormore, for example. Many other distilleries can turn in this direction in the right circumstances, particularly in refill ex-bourbon casks too. Tropical fruit notes are not exclusive to the Speyside region by any means, some of the Highland distilleries are famous for these tropical fruit notes, e.g. Ben Nevis distilled in 1996-1998, or older Clynelish from before they took the waxiness away from us. Islay whiskies can head in this direction too, most famously older Bowmores but even Laphroaig on rarer occasions. So-called "new world" whiskies can sometimes do the same, generally at relatively young ages due to warmer climates or wider seasonal swings in temperature. Generally, but not always. 

So why do some whiskies develop this tropical fruit profile, and why don't all whiskies do it? Even discounting cask type - fortified wine or red wine casks tend to reduce or obscure these notes - it remains very complex, ranging from fermentation and distillation methods and equipment to the interactive stages of maturation which are quite mysterious in their own right. The main factors in fermentation stage seem to be the type of yeast employed (brewers yeast rather than modern distillers yeast, for example) and the fermentation time (not necessarily the longer the better), while in distillation a faster distillation run, a wider cut point, and/or worm tub condensers seem to be contributors, mainly because they give the spirit some rough edges, giving a more robust and more sulphured new make spirit that can be left to mature for longer before it comes under threat of too much cask influence. In layman's chemical terms we're talking about esters and esterification here, but also lactones and the combination & interaction of both, which is also influenced by interaction with the air in a cask during ageing, plus the local microclimate, and even bacteria and other microorganisms. Both esters and lactones are created, captured, and altered throughout the fermentation, distillation, and maturation stages of whisky production, and it's basically impossible to pinpoint where any one particular flavour has originated from. Yeast and bacteria can add esters, oak and microorganisms can add lactones, and both can be boosted during maturation thanks to that mysterious interactive stage of maturation. But it's not even that simple; to add an extra curve ball, other non-malt spirits such as brandies or rums can also develop more tropical fruit notes when they reach sufficient age. So it's an extremely complex subject! Aside from flavour & aroma being a largely subjective thing, this is also part of the magic, the alchemy, the mystery, that is whisky. 

It's worth noting that most single malts showing this profile will be independent bottlings rather than official bottlings i.e. those bottled and released by the distillery owners, and those independent bottlings will usually be single cask bottlings too. A lot of the time these casks will be from "workhorse" distilleries which mainly produce malt whisky destined for their parent company's blended whiskies, where the fermentation may be shorter and the distillation may be faster than if the intention was otherwise. As mentioned above, the spirit from these distilleries may be a little rough around the edges if bottled young, which may be intentional or there may be other factors involved like reducing cost and/or time in order to fulfil requirements. But when left alone for long enough in the right cask, particularly an ex-bourbon barrel with its layer charring, see above re: rough edges and (sometimes) sulphur in the spirit, this is where magic can happen.

The tropical fruit-laden whisky we're looking at today isn't from Ireland or Scotland, nor is it an independent bottling sourced from a distillery that mainly produces blended whisky. It's from Tasmania, the small island off the south-east coast of Australia that has almost become synonymous with whisky in this part of the world. It's 20-years old, which is already a very rare thing in Australian whisky, let alone a cask of single malt that hasn't been swamped by wood and/or fortified wine influence from too much time in cask/s in our warmer and more varied climate. That roughness in the spirit mentioned above isn't considered acceptable by most Australian whisky producers since they tend to bottle young for cashflow reasons. For this reason most new make spirit made in Australia is very clean, light, and drinkable straight from the still, which may sound like a good thing until you fill that light & clean new make spirit into a 20-litre first-fill (or even wet fill) fortified wine cask and in two years or less it barely resembles whisky. There are exceptions though, the two more famous of which would be Sullivan's Cove and Hellyers Road. The former uses a brandy still and a worm tub condenser, while the latter uses oversized stills that are largely comprised of stainless steel rather than copper, resulting in more sulphur compounds in the spirit which would otherwise have been reduced by copper contact. Both do also use full-sized casks, another rare thing in Australian whisky. Again, hen left for long enough in the right cask and with enough good luck thrown in, you may just end up with a cask full of tropical fruit at the end of the road!

This 20-year old single cask single malt from Hellyers Road, who have released no less than five 20-22 year old single malt whiskies in the last 9-months or so (22yo reviewed here), is a great example of all that we've discussed above. This is a first-fill American oak ex-bourbon cask, #4253.04, that was filled on the 9th of September 2004. 15 casks were filled on that same day, but this is the only one that has survived the test of time, being earmarked as something special by the distillery team and given the internal nickname "the peaches cask" - and for good reason! This 20-year old single cask was bottled at a cask strength of 52.8% ABV with a yield of 179 x 700ml bottles, and is of course non-chill filtered and natural colour. It was released earlier this week and is available here at an RRP of $1,150 AUD - which may sound like a lot of coin to those playing overseas, and to be fair it certainly is, but in terms of an Australian single malt at this sort of age that's more reasonable than the competition. The obvious comparison is fellow Tasmanian distillery Sullivans Cove, which isn't quite an apples-to-apples comparison in terms of brand or market, this is basically the only other distillery in Australia with stocks at these significant ages - largely thanks to both distilleries making more robust spirit and using full-sized casks, meaning their maturing stocks can better withstand the Australian climate. In Sullivans Cove terms you're looking at $1,100-1,250 AUD for a 17-18 year old refill French oak cask or $2,500 AUD for a 23-year old ex-bourbon cask, so in that context $1,150 AUD for a 20-year old single cask Hellyers Road isn't that crazy. Even less so when it's a freak single cask with this sort of flavour profile. Let's get to it! 

Hellyers Road 20 Year Old "The Peaches Cask", 52.8%. Tasmania, Australia.

Filled 9/9/2004, matured in single first-fill ex-bourbon cask #4253.04. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 179 bottles. 

Colour: Amber gold. 

Nose: Sweet, fruity, delicious. Sweet peaches, yes, and in fruit syrup, but also nectarine, and apricot. Bit of lychee around the edges too. Black pepper and some freshly sawn timber. Jelly bean-like sweetness; I'd say the pink, yellow, and orange varieties. Orange peel, runny honey, some ground ginger, and a slight touch of ground aniseed.   

Texture: Medium weight. Oily, fruity, syrupy. Slight spirit heat but helps with balance. 

Taste: Sweet, fruity, malty. More sweet peaches in syrup, plus apricots & nectarines, and some marzipan (sweetened almond paste). White pepper and freshly grated ginger. Runny honey and hint of ground aniseed. Marzipan, lychee, and sweet malted barley around the edges. 

Finish: Long length. Sweet peaches, nectarines, and apricots again, then more orange peel & fresh ginger. White pepper, lychee, marzipan, and biscuity malted barley underneath that sweet & juicy stone fruit. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: This is certainly the fruitiest and juiciest Australian whisky that I've ever tried! And probably one of the most spirit-driven (as opposed to cask-driven) at this sort of age. There are fantastic amounts of sweet stone fruit and fruit syrup but balanced by the marzipan, ginger, orange peel, and pepper, giving it more depth than it would have otherwise. If tasted blind I could easily be convinced that this was a 25+ year old Speyside or Highland single malt, and there are shades of the 30+ year old independent bottlings of Tormore and Glenlivet that were doing the rounds not that long ago. Which is not something I've ever said about an Australian whisky! Normally there'd be too much cask influence, whether from the oak or the cask's previous contents or both, to get this sort of spirit character through at these advanced ages, which is partly why Aussie whisky is so rare at 20+ years of age. 

This 20-year old Hellyers Road is really quite delicious, and it's a great example of what we've discussed above - take a good cask of a more robust, "rough around the edges" spirit, leave it for long enough while keeping an eye on it, and you might just end up with a cask of delicious tropical fruit. If you're lucky!

Cheers!

AD Rattray Orkney 18 Year Old Single Cask Whisky Review!

Another anonymous Highland Park from an independent bottler - as many have said, they're never Scapa, so that only leaves one other distillery in Orkney! Some of these bottlings can be fantastic though, and the anonymity can - on some occasions - keep the pricing more reasonable in comparison.  

This bottle was a bit of an impulse buy for me, and that is not how I usually do things. Something about it caught my eye, being a cask strength single cask of Highland Park at a reasonable $199 AUD, from an independent bottler that I haven't had much experience with, and promising to be a more spirit-driven example of Orkney's main distillery since it was from a refill hogshead. Apologies to Pernod Ricard's Scapa Distillery, but we rarely see any of their whisky in Australia - there's still no local sign of the "new" official bottlings which have been available in Europe for over 15-months now - and with the amount of independently bottled unnamed Highland Park single malts around you'd be easily forgiven for forgetting that Scapa even exists. Those rebranded & relaunched official bottlings of Scapa did receive some good reviews and a little attention online, but apart from one fantastic 19-year old single cask official bottling that was bottled for The Whisky Exchange - which was way too expensive at roughly $500 AUD plus shipping and duties - I've personally never had a Scapa that was memorable. And that's including the couple of independent bottlings of Scapa that I've tasted, which I believe were from Gordon & MacPhail. On paper the distillery sounds interesting, using a Lomond still as its wash still, albeit with the plates removed from the neck, and using a purifier on the spirit still. So hopefully if/when those newer official bottlings arrive in Australia that situation changes for the better and Scapa's slice of the pie gets a little larger, and whisky enthusiasts will be reminded that there's more than one distillery on Orkney!

The reason that there are so many unnamed Orkney single malts around from the independent bottlers is that most of these have come from cask brokers, and Highland Park does not want these casks wearing the distillery name. You'd think they'd be too busy coming up with new spins on the tired old Viking marketing spiels or quietly bumping up their pricing in line with packaging updates to worry about such things, but apparently not! This is of course Edrington, the same company behind Macallan and Glenrothes, and they don't often let those names appear on independent bottlings either. The old spin on the rationale here was that the distilleries sold off casks that didn't quite fit the flavour profiles required by their blending customers and/or their own proprietary blends, so they didn't want the distillery name being associated with those different flavour profiles. But these days we can safely say that it's more about brand protection & marketing since you don't want an independent bottling out there with equal or better quality than your (generally) more expensive official bottling. Especially if that official bottling has some ridiculously overdone packaging and the "luxury goods" price tag to match. That's enough ranting for now...

Orkney's Highland Park produces lightly peated malt whisky, consisting of roughly 20% peated barley and 80% unpeated barley, where the peated component is floor-malted at the distillery using local peat and measures in at 20 ppm on the freshly malted barley, whereas the unpeated malt is purchased commercially and shipped to the distillery. The distillery has an annual capacity of over 2.5-million litres of spirit through four pot stills, and is owned by Edrington who also own Macallan and Glenrothes. After years of heavy Viking-themed marketing and "luxury" positioning they do seem to have calmed down a touch, but most whisky lovers are still turning to the independent bottlers for their Highland Park fixes. This particular independent bottling is from A.D. Rattray, one of the lesser known indy bottlers, and as far as I'm aware the company doesn't have an official Australian importer. The company's more recognisable brands would be the Cask Islay and Cask Speyside anonymous single malts, and the Stronachie bottlings of unnamed Benrinnes. Rattray was originally founded in 1868 as a grocery store, when like many of the blenders & independent bottlers in Scotland they began blending and bottling their own whiskies for their customers. The company eventually wound up under the ownership of the Morrison family who owned Islay's Bowmore Distillery, Highland distillery Glen Garioch, and Lowland distillery Auchentoshan for a few decades, before they were sold in the early 1990s to current owners Suntory. The Morrison family launched the A.D. Rattray "Cask Collection" independent bottlings in 2004, and in 2017 opened Clydeside Distillery in Glasgow, who's inaugural single malt release hit the shelves back in 2021. 

This single cask of unnamed Orkney single malt is from that Cask Collection. It was distilled in April 2006, fully matured in a single ex-bourbon hogshead (250-litre cask), and bottled in December 2024 at a cask strength of 58.4% ABV. Cask (lucky) number #13 yielded 288 bottles, and there's no chill filtration or added colouring to be found here. Rattray do produce a core range batch product named Cask Orkney 18-year old which is bottled at 46%, not to be confused with a cask strength single cask. Let's see if this impulse buy has paid off!

A.D. Rattray Orkney 18-Year Old, Single Cask, 58.4%. Orkney, Scotland.

Unnamed Highland Park, distilled 20/4/2006, single ex-bourbon hogshead, bottled 20/12/2024. Cask #13, 288 bottles. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Sharp citrus, biscuity malt, runny honey. Slightly nippy (alcohol nip) initially. Lemon & lime drops (hard-boiled lollies / confectionary), burnt leafy herbs, soft ashy wood smoke. With time it softens and gains milk bottle lollies (chewy vanilla lollies) and some marzipan. Quite maritime too, oyster shells, and salt-laden driftwood. 

Texture: Medium weight. Oily, malty, slightly creamy. No heat. 

Taste: Malty, lemony, lightly herbal & earthy. Lemon oil, touch of sea salt, marzipan again, and those burning herbs on a wood fire. Hints of aniseed, milk chocolate, and sharper citrus with lemon & lime drops (lollies) and a touch of grapefruit rind. 

Finish: Long length. Aniseed, sea salt, and lemon curd. Biscuity malted barley, flaky pie crust. Some lime zest and oyster shells to round things off. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Nice example of the dryer, more austere, unadulterated side of Highland Park that never shows up in official bottlings, but is fairly common in spirit-driven refill cask independent bottlings that have a decent amount of age to them. Loads of citrus, malted barley, and burning herbs. Quite maritime too, which again rarely shows in official bottlings but does on occasion in independent bottlings. We're talking subtle mineral & coastal touches here, nothing like an Islay or Talisker level of salt or seawater. This 18-year old Orkney may not be the most complex dram around, but it's a satisfying one, and offers good value at $199 AUD for a cask strength single cask. I'm still yet to have a Highland Park, official or independent, that has really "wowed" me, with one delicious independent bottling from the late 70s being my standout example so far. But it's nice to see the HP spirit shown in its natural light without makeup, and without assertive casks getting in the way. Long live the independent bottlers!

Cheers!