Whiskey is all about discovery, about trying new styles from new places. Do your taste buds a favour with these 5 whiskies you’ve probably never heard of.
Traditionally, whisky-drinkers associate the tipple with Scotland, but with producers popping up all over the world, Japanese, American, and even European whiskies are gaining ground globally. If you’re a man who likes to embark on a journey of whisky discovery, these under-the-radar drams might tickle your fancy.
READ: From Potato Farmer to British Vodka Pioneer
There’s nothing wrong with having a bottle of Black Label for those impromptu sours or late-night libations, but you might think about adding something a little more unique to the home bar, if only to treat yourself. While Scotch production in Scotland is at record levels, whisky in all its manifestations is also being produced at all points of the compass, with new distilleries in England and Ireland now competing with New World wonders from the likes of Taiwan, Australia, and Japan. Here are some of our favourite drams for when quality trumps marketing budget.
Sullivans Cove American Oak Single Cask Malt Whisky
Aged in 200 litre ex-bourbon oak casks, Sullivans Cove Single Cask is the first-ever Australian whisky to achieve ‘Liquid Gold’ status in whisky connoisseur Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible. The brand’s American Oak Cask HH0351 was also a winner of the ‘World’s Best’ single cask single malt whisky at this year’s World Whiskies Awards.
This small-batch whisky is hand-distilled in Hobart with 100 percent Tasmanian ingredients, producing a strong malt backbone. With flavours of vanilla, oak, caramel, stone fruit, and white flowers, this American Oak Cask HH0351 was distilled in June 2000 and decanted in January 2017. Only 136 bottles from the batch were produced, with one of the last remaining bottles being auctioned in June for US$8,654.
READ: A Watch Inspired by Merry Old London Town
Karuizawa 1983 Cocktail Series
The Karuizawa distillery was built in 1955 in a Japanese town of the same name. Sought after by connoisseurs, Karuizawa produced first-class malt whiskies using ‘Golden Promise’ barley, and sherry casks for ageing. Production stopped in 2000 and bottles like the 29-year-old single malt, produced as part of Karuizawa’s Cocktail Series, are increasingly rare.
With a powerful nose of apricot, quince, cooked apple and citrus, the whisky’s dried fruits are accompanied by cinnamon and caraway spices, adding to its golden glow. But it’s the labels of the Karuizawa Cocktail Series – specially designed by Japanese artist Hideyuki Katsumata – that give this bottle character, drawing inspiration from Japanese bar culture, and the link between single malt whisky and cocktails.
Watershed Distillery Bourbon
Proving that great bourbon doesn’t always come from Kentucky, Watershed Distillery first bottled their small batch bourbon in 2012 and followed with an Old Fashioned bottled cocktail. Double-distilled, and made from a grain bill of corn, wheat, rye, barley, and spelt, this Ohio whiskey is aged in charred American oak barrels for up to four years, producing a uniquely crisp flavour with hints of vanilla, caramel undertones, and notes of spice from the rye.
READ: Porsche’s New Taycan Brings Tears to Our Eyes
Navazos-Palazzi “Bota Punta” Malt Whisky
Distilled in Jerez, from Spanish malt, Bota Punta Malt Whisky is the product of two drinks producers, Nicolas Palazzi, founder of New York-based PM Spirits, and Equipo Navazos, a Spanish winery. Named after the faster-ageing cask used in the solera ageing system, Bota Punta is a ten-year-old cask whisky, with only 900 bottles released at the end of 2017. Aged at the beginning of the bottom row of barrels, which are subject to more air and more light, this sherry-forward malt whisky delivers a rich and creamy taste, perfect for a nightcap.
Starward Single Malt Whisky Wine Cask Edition
Recent winner of Australia’s Best Single Malt Whisky, Starward’s Wine Cask Edition is a modern Australian malt with a unique red tinted hue delivered through the ageing process. Bold red wine barrels are selected and steamed – instead of charred – to retain the wine flavours soaked into the wood. The spirit is then aged for three “Melbourne years”. Starward is a young whisky that balances both the sweet and savoury palate, but don’t mistake its age for less quality – the long tannic finish assumed by the wine gives this tipple a uniquely delicate taste, with a profile akin to Shiraz or Cabernet wines.
For more Wines & Spirits inspiration click here.