Scores

93/100

ottled from a single Australian Apera cask and finished in a Spanish oloroso sherry cask, this whisky sits at a powerful 56% for an equally powerful price point of $275. It's a departure from the usual Amber Lane approach of blending various casks to create balanced batches, so you'd hope they've picked a winner to be bottled as is. Trail mix and candied orange on the nose with plenty of rich oak and cherry cola. Surprisingly, at such a high ABV, the alcohol is quite gentle once if you leave it in the glass to open up for a few minutes before diving in (always a good idea with high-proof spirits). The palate explodes with various fruits and flowers - a riot of sweetness and fun. Again, the alcohol is super well-controlled, and the finish is clean with no burn, a real achievement at this strength. So yes, they picked the proper cask to bottle. For lovers of cask strength, fortified wine matured single malts; this is a real winner. There are cheaper Aussie whiskies in this style on the market, but few have this level of control and nuance, so in this case, the price is justified, and I'd drink this over Macallan any day. Only 230 bottles produced.

James Halliday