Deep gold. An unusual fruity edge to the nose that evokes guava with a slice of banana thrown in. Several minutes air contact releases peppery, biscuity malt as well as rich vanillas before a stewed orchard fruit aspect comes to the fore.
Almost a sense of lightness, otherwise unheard of from this bottler - the whisky dances across the tongue as crisp malty notes are followed by suggestions of tropical fruit and cream tea biscuits at the finish. Not mind blowingly complex, but the stand-out nose, balance and length combined make for an exceptional release.
Heartwood - We Are Cousins
Tasmanian Heartwood Malt Whisky Pty Ltd currently has 7,000+ litres of whisky stored in 200, 240 and 300 litre barrels.
The whiskies are maturing in a variety of barrel types that include bourbon and Australian tokay, muscat, port, sherry and rum. The barrels are filled with "new make" spirit from seven (7) different distilleries. We now have both peated and unpeated spirit. We have nine (9) spirit types.
The collection commenced in 1999 and continues today where we have control and input into every stage of the whisky's development.
We are there to determine the amount of peat used for production. We actively seek out the best new make spirit. We actively select the barrel. The barrels are filled and housed under our complete control. We are definitely there to sample the whisky as it matures.
If somethings isn't right, we will reshape it, we will blend it, we will re-barrel it and we may even belt it. Long live the brontosaurus.
We do not have commercial drivers. The quality of the whisky produced is the most important aspect of our endeavours. The whisky will be bottled when it is ready. If it is really, really, good, we might just keep it for ourselves (to be shared with friends).