When Sam at Kinglake Distillery asked if we were happy being his guinea pig, we didn't hesitate! We love pushing the envelope and trying something different. This single cask whisky may have started life and reached full maturation in a more traditional American Oak Ex-Bourbon Cask - the barrel type that has put Kinglake Distillery on the Australian Whisky map - but the finishing cask is a whole different European story (and journey). A boutique Italian cooperage hand makes barrels, in only small quantities, from raw mulberry wood they have personally sourced and selected from sustainable cultivation areas in France and Hungary. Shipped to Victoria's High Country, a local cooper has then resized the barrel to suit this specific project and added a light char. Mulberry wood releases striking sweet aromas and creates a spirit with intense colour. Fast maturing, given the size of cask and the structure of the wood having relatively low density & high porosity, our whisky has been left in the finishing cask for 3 months before bottling. Bottle Size: 500ml ABV: 55% Outturn: 84 bottles Our Tasting Notes: Nose: Orchard fruits, shortbread, sourdough, honey & varnished wood Palate: Pears soaked in jasmine liqueur, sugary confectionary sweetness & baking spice hints of nutmeg and cloves; all integrated with gentle peat smokiness. Finish: Oolong tea, runny honey and floral notes of lily of the valley and sandalwood Distillery Tasting Notes: Sam Lowe, Co-Owner & Head Distiller at Kinglake Distillery says: "There is an underlying soft sweetness and vanilla from the ex-bourbon foundation, overlaid with a more robust over-tone. The Kinglake DNA thus clearly remains but the mulberry wood has replaced the background peat notes, usually clear in our spirit, creating a profile I find more savoury and harder to define. A whisky to mull over!"
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