[62.0%・15 Years Old・Distilled in 2000・Bottled Circa 2016・Tasmania Distillery・The Exile Bottling・Cask No. HH 556・Single Cask Release of 344 Bottles]
Nose:
Blueberry jam with the oak heavily foreshadowing what’s likely to be the main theme.. Quite “Port”-y and slightly vegetal, dark and musky with the thick honey note gushing out and the lemon infused cola fizzling away.
Palate & Finish:
Hot initially but the palate soon settles down for a jammy chewiness of stewed prunes. The oak has a strong presence through out with an oily Pho tone. Cola and aged lemon peels simmering away with the brown sugar crystallising. There is a slight gingery infusion that lifts the tone on the mid-palate.
Touch of menthol, the stewed prunes come back again but then the woody and earthy elements set in to dry things out.
Thoughts:
Quite aptly named I thought, certainly feels like an exile rather than a self-imposed exile in the sense that the cask was seemingly selected by circumstances and not necessarily by choice.
A journeyman cask that is arguably past its best years, but the “Port” influence is gorgeous and is breathing in a lot of energy to revitalise the dram even though it is ultimately a touch burdened by the wood..
It’s one of the earlier private casks that got bottled under the current Australian whisky climate and perhaps one of the better ones as well.
✓ [Recommended if you like the style/distillery]
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