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Australian whisky
- Thread starter erobins
- Start date
Callum
Member
I’m in Tas now, but have been drawn in by the variety of gin. If I see and try any worthy & reasonably priced whisky I’ll report in.
Monsta_AU
...can I interest you in some vintage blades?
Staff member
Forum Administrator
Grand Society
Yes, most indeed are at that pricepoint because of the far lower volumes produced. If the mashtuns and stills were Scottish-sized then you would see the cost come down significantly due to batch sizing but you would probably lose more of the local small-batch character. This is one of the reasons why certain local whiskies are prized overseas, along with the wealth of red and fortified barrels available to us.
For an everyday/available bottle, Starward Red Wine Cask. Should be available nationally via Dans, or any decent stockist at $90-$100. I believe it is a bit short in maturation IMHO. The 'Standard' Starward is a 'Apera' (Sherry) cask with a bit more in it and I prefer that but it is generally $20 more expensive at $110-$120. I dearly love their Solera bottlings which are excellent but you need to get directly from the distillery or from specialist retailers.
Bakery Hill and Hellyers Road are probably the best 'brands' at the under $200 pricepoint, and is generally Ex-Bourbon casks. A bit boring however, especially if you want something other than bourbon casks.
I think what you are actually asking for is the Iniquity Distillery in SA, or Black Gate Distillery from NSW. A range of barrel finish maturations from both, and falls into the $160-$200 range mostly although some go higher.
Nant has a number of bottles in that $160-$200 range which were previously priced in the $350 region. I caution these are 500ml rather than 700ml, and there is plenty of issues around the company which you can google yourself which has impacted the price of some of these bottles downward. The product is very good, possibly just below the Overeem/Sullivans Cove level and is significantly cheaper on a per-dram basis so excellent value. You just need to decide if you want to reward them with your business for small bottles and questionable business ethics.
For an everyday/available bottle, Starward Red Wine Cask. Should be available nationally via Dans, or any decent stockist at $90-$100. I believe it is a bit short in maturation IMHO. The 'Standard' Starward is a 'Apera' (Sherry) cask with a bit more in it and I prefer that but it is generally $20 more expensive at $110-$120. I dearly love their Solera bottlings which are excellent but you need to get directly from the distillery or from specialist retailers.
Bakery Hill and Hellyers Road are probably the best 'brands' at the under $200 pricepoint, and is generally Ex-Bourbon casks. A bit boring however, especially if you want something other than bourbon casks.
I think what you are actually asking for is the Iniquity Distillery in SA, or Black Gate Distillery from NSW. A range of barrel finish maturations from both, and falls into the $160-$200 range mostly although some go higher.
Nant has a number of bottles in that $160-$200 range which were previously priced in the $350 region. I caution these are 500ml rather than 700ml, and there is plenty of issues around the company which you can google yourself which has impacted the price of some of these bottles downward. The product is very good, possibly just below the Overeem/Sullivans Cove level and is significantly cheaper on a per-dram basis so excellent value. You just need to decide if you want to reward them with your business for small bottles and questionable business ethics.
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Thanks at @Monsta_AU value for money can’t beat starward. Have been looking into black gate distillery as price point seems good. Has anyone tried black gate distillery?
Monsta_AU
...can I interest you in some vintage blades?
Staff member
Forum Administrator
Grand Society
Yeah Starward is amazing for the money. I have taken a few bottles of the Wine Cask overseas for business gifts and they are always very well received, and I get requests for more! The Solera bottling is quite hard to find and reaches into the $200's but if you like the wine cask & standard Sherry bottlings then it's worth finding. I have seen it in multiple whisky bars both locally and in NZ.
I have Black Gate myself, and I think another member has too (maybe run a search). I got a bottle of their BG004 via The Oak Barrel which is quite sweet with some spice, and have tasted the BG021/022 which is deep and rich but not as spicy as the 004. The port casks have a quite different interaction with the spirit and while you can detect distillery character it is quite a different dram. I'd love to get my hands on a 'juiced' port cask maturation of 5-6 years, it would almost be a 'dessert dram'.
Next purchase with be their 620s (ie 6x 20L casks blended) release, and possibly the BG011 for a cask strength. Black Gate is an underrated producer, as is Iniquity. Both are very worthy of your cash.
I will also throw out Baker Williams, which is from my home town. I only know the people in passing, but they are doing 500ml for $130ish. The initial release was a 3-year maturation and they have a few casks still going which I was told they would try to get to 5 years. The temperature delta through the year is very high and everything matures faster out there, Mudgee has had as low as -8 this winter, and a 43 degree day last summer. The spirit expands in and out of the wood far more with this, so 5 years is closer to 12-15 years in Tasmania or Scotland.
I have Black Gate myself, and I think another member has too (maybe run a search). I got a bottle of their BG004 via The Oak Barrel which is quite sweet with some spice, and have tasted the BG021/022 which is deep and rich but not as spicy as the 004. The port casks have a quite different interaction with the spirit and while you can detect distillery character it is quite a different dram. I'd love to get my hands on a 'juiced' port cask maturation of 5-6 years, it would almost be a 'dessert dram'.
Next purchase with be their 620s (ie 6x 20L casks blended) release, and possibly the BG011 for a cask strength. Black Gate is an underrated producer, as is Iniquity. Both are very worthy of your cash.
I will also throw out Baker Williams, which is from my home town. I only know the people in passing, but they are doing 500ml for $130ish. The initial release was a 3-year maturation and they have a few casks still going which I was told they would try to get to 5 years. The temperature delta through the year is very high and everything matures faster out there, Mudgee has had as low as -8 this winter, and a 43 degree day last summer. The spirit expands in and out of the wood far more with this, so 5 years is closer to 12-15 years in Tasmania or Scotland.
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Monsta_AU
...can I interest you in some vintage blades?
Staff member
Forum Administrator
Grand Society
Never tasted either of those so I cannot comment directly. Based on the BG004 alone I would be happy to get other bottlings of whisky from them. I would probably want to try the rum for myself first as I generally do not like local rums for the most part.
@Monsta_AU do you like normal, dark or spiced rum? because rum plays a different role of flavour and taste and not just the percentage of alcohol in rum, does this make sense to you?
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Drink like a Pirate, live longer: The 8 Health Benefits of Rum click here
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sealer
Member
What would you call "normal"? the transparent one?
I like the aged one, or whatever is called in English, the one that get color from the barrels through time. I have not drink good rum for years, as some of my tastes, like Zacapa, are prohibitively expensive down here, but I had a couple of rum drinks at Lark distillery (TAS) not so long ago and it was quite pleasant. Still its costs is worth a few good splashes, so I am off for buying it for now.
Very hard for me to explain about rum because they've shown in the various colour from the liquid from light to dark, flavour, strength and age.
Monsta_AU
...can I interest you in some vintage blades?
Staff member
Forum Administrator
Grand Society
The general mass-market rums produced locally I just generally do not like the flavour profile. The smaller, more boutiquey/artisan distilleries I do not tar with the same brush - so I would have to try it. I do have Zacapa 23, El Dorado 15 & Mount Gay XO in the collection. I also like Diplomatico, Appleton etc.
Spiced Rums are an abomination, much like Fireball is an abomination to whisky. Anyway, this is not a rum thread.
EDITED because you are a banned troll.
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Pbgoose
Active Member
Earlier this year I bought Black Gate's Single Malt, Single Cask Whisky. Then later I bought the Black Gate Overproof Rum. Very happy with both.
