[46.0%・NAS・Bottled in 2016・Official Bottling・Single Cask Release]
Nose:
The nose is tight initially, vaguely floral with traces of ink used in Chinese calligraphy. It’s a touch yeasty and earthy. The Port influence only arrives much later on.
Palate & Finish:
The palate is typically Port influenced. Dark fruits with a pleasant grassy spirit note coming through before becoming a jammy affair.
A light mellow finish but in a somewhat surprising twist it stretches on, wee citrus and faint notes of toffee treacle and dark hot chocolate.
Thoughts:
It’s a single cask but it’s in fact an easy-to-drink Aussie with a fair palate. The subtle finish exceeds the standard swiftness young Aussie whiskies tend to exhibit and in fact it fares longer than the palate.
The decision to bottle at 46% perhaps was driven by supply but I am quite glad that the end product achieves a decent balance as a result.
I like this as some sort of a general release and I hope they can keep up with the consistency but who knows how all the small casks will turn out..
-Nicholas
WhiskNick 