Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy01
Believe it or not, Helliers Road Whisky was recently rated #1 in the world. And it's from ..... Tasmania!
So I bought some for the wife's birthday (she loves the peaty ones) and it's not peaty but sooooo smooth and flavoursome, highly recommended  |
Not quite, although I am sure it is very good.
At a blind tasting in Paris by local whisky enthusiasts in 2013, the Pinot cask expression was voted the best New World Whisky. In other words, it was not competing against Scotch whisky, but amongst new countries that are making whisky it was voted the most popular at that event, probably because the Pinot cask created an original flavour profile that intrigued people.
Australian whisky will always struggle to achieve the consistent heights of Scotch whisky because in our climate, the whisky takes on too much of a woody flavour profile if left in the barrel more than 4 or 5 years. It will always be young and fiery, which is a nice distinctive style, but it will never reach the sublime heights of some of the 30 year old malts you get from colder climate countries like Scotland.
My favourite Australian whisky is Nant. I visited their distillery at Bothwell, about 45 mins NW of Hobart in January 2014. They make a truly local product, using locally produced barley and local yeasts. They mill the barley themselves, indeed all steps are done on site. They age the whisky for about 4 years, but I think they are using some excellent casks because the flavour profile is exquisite. Highly recommended - especially the sherry cask, cask strength.
