Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a big motivator in the whisky enthusiast's world. We see new "limited releases" and "special editions" from our favourite distilleries & producers, and we need them in our hands immediately. And when one of your favourite producers only releases 200-300 bottles (or less) of each bottling, that fear becomes much more urgent. Such a low volume producer with such a cult following can't really keep up with demand, and all recent Heartwood releases have sold out within days. Luckily I didn't miss out on this particular release, but I've missed out on plenty since, and believe me, that pain is real. Especially after eventually tasting those missed bottlings! The man himself is well aware of this demand though, and is counteracting it with his other venture Tasmanian Independent Bottlers (TIB). There have been a few TIB whiskies released so far, at lower prices and lower strengths (46-49% to date), for pricing and approach-ability reasons, than Heartwood bottlings.
What's seriously impressive is that Mr. H has stuck to his guns through all of this increased demand and attention, and even through offers to buy the business (let's just hope that never happens, it could never, and would never be the same). All Heartwood releases have been bottled at their natural cask strength, totally unadulterated with no chill filtration or added colouring, and with plenty of information printed right there on the label. Where possible anyway, since some of those releases have had very complicated upbringings. He also doesn't shy away from sharing his whisky's plights on social media, and is completely open and honest about the struggles that he & his whiskies go through before they're ready to wear the Heartwood label. For example, the whisky that I'm reviewing tonight was initially "a little recalcitrant", in Mr. H's own words. It was brought into line by being locked in the "hot box" for a couple of weeks after decanting, and being repeatedly & savagely beaten with a large paddle. Having seen both the paddle and hot box (which is a much warmer room of the Heartwood bond store building) in action during this incredible visit, I can only imagine that the whiskies being subjected to this... encouragement... are soon in a hurry to shape-up and toe the line! More info on the story behind Heartwood & Mr. H can be found here and here in the write-ups from my previous visits to the Heartwood inner sanctum, which were almost... spiritual... experiences!
On the menu tonight is Heartwood Darkest Before Dawn. This is a single cask bottling that was distilled at Lark Distillery in May 2009 using only their very-lightly peated malt, peated to around 7 ppm using Tasmanian highland peat, which is very light itself, with re-wet barley that had already been malted for "just a touch" of smoke as Bill Lark says. The new make spirit was then filled into an Oloroso sherry cask, where it spent approximately 8.5 years making itself at home, before being bottled at a cask strength of 64% ABV in November 2017, without any of that chill filtration or added colouring nonsense. Cask number LD559 yielded 242 bottles, and sold out in a matter of days. The sample for this review came from a very generous fellow whisky lover, and I now owe him one serious sample!
Distilled at Lark Distillery May 2009, very lightly peated, matured in a single first-fill Oloroso sherry cask, cask number LD559. Bottled November 2017. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 242 bottles.
Colour: Dark red amber / dark rust.
Nose: Sweet & fruity, and delicious. Dark, buttery & nutty toasted oak, cough drops, raspberry jam and some scorched eucalyptus bark. Some plum jam as well, and roasted nuts - maybe chestnuts? Something a little cheesy as well, in a good way, like a sweet cream cheese. Yep, mixed berry cheesecake actually, including the crumb. Wow, that's a new one!
Texture: Massive. Medium weight, and a little fire-y (it's 64%, remember), but packed with flavour.
Taste: Big & spicy, a little hot on entry, and a little astringent. Dryer than the nose as well. Some dried & blow-torched raspberries, more dark toasted oak with a little ginger. Some mild coffee syrup and sweet cream.
Finish: Medium-long length. Dry, oaky and hot initially, with more burnt eucalyptus. Then becoming sweeter with more raspberry & plum jams, some ginger and a little wood spice, coffee grounds and more cough drops. A little buttery pastry and more sweet cream towards the end.
Score: 4 out of 5.
Notes: Very tasty stuff, as always from Heartwood. The nose is absolutely fantastic on this one, and it's definitely the highlight of the experience for me. It's complex and very interesting, which is impressive when you remember that this is an eight year old whisky at a massive strength. The spirit has really stood up well against that sherry cask too, which is yet another testament to Mr. H's skill. The palate is also delicious here, but for me at least it doesn't quite live up to the fantastic nose. It's definitely a little hot too, but again, for an eight year old whisky at 64% ABV (higher than the filling strength of most new make spirit!), that's to be expected, and it would be far more so from plenty of other producers.
Darkest Before Dawn still has that burnt eucalyptus note that I find in most of the good Lark whiskies at high strength, but that very nice berry cheesecake note is a new one for me! Very interesting, and challenging, as every Heartwood should be, and usually is. Yummy. I'm an unashamed Heartwood fan boy of course, but if you like your drams to be high strength and full of flavour, you'll have to get your hands on a dram of one of these! Not a bottle mind you, just a dram. That way there might be a few more bottles left for the rest of us...
Cheers!
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