Review: Australian rum cask finished whiskies

Ev Liong -
Whisky Reviews
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On tasting: Hobart Whisky Rum Cask Finish Cask Strength, Killara Rum Cask Finish, Riverbourne ‘Initiative’ Rum Cask Matured, Lark Rum Cask III and Black Gate BG065 Apera/Rum/Rum

Before Balvenie Caribbean Cask there wasn’t really a widely available offering that fused together the flavours of whisky and rum. Balvenie and Glenfiddich’s owner, William Grant & Sons, have long been in the cane game, releasing a number of successful rum cask finished whiskies over the last two decades.

But I’ve found the Balvenie in particular is a great way to lure both rum and whisky drinkers into each other’s stable, through the familiar characteristics of cocoa, juicy raisins, brown sugar and golden syrup.

Rum has been a part of Australian culture since colonisation. It’s been a currency, caused rebellions, and its historical links to the slave trade and, in Australia, indentured labour, cast a dark and complicated shadow over its use and abuse.

But now, rum is definitely on the march again here. And while Lark were one of the first Australian whisky distilleries to use their own rum casks to finish whisky, several others have followed.

Beenleigh, Australia’s oldest continuously operating distillery, have even produced a single malt matured in their own rum casks (we were hoping to include it here, but Beenleigh fans snapped them all up before we could grab one).

Curious drinkers can find a lot of common ground between the two spirits, so it makes sense that so many Australian distilleries are now producing both. It’s going to be fascinating to see how far the marriage of flavours between the two can be explored in future.

 

  • Hobart Whisky Rum Cask Finish Cask Strength
    The Stats
    • ABV: 59.7%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Devil's Distillery and initially matured in Heaven Hill American oak ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ex-Guatemalan rum casks.
    • Location: Hobart, TAS
    • Score: 81
    Nose
    Super ripe banana, treacle, vanilla ice cream, white chocolate and esters.
    Palate
    Hot. Youthful and bitey. Light malt with golden raisins, dusty cocoa, red berries and weak coffee.
    Finish
    Dried pineapple, oak tannin and spirit heat.
    Comments
    Cask influence was a bit too forward and intense, making the whole a bit dry, and getting in the way of the juiciness from the rum cask. A lot of potential here though.
  • Killara Single Malt Whisky Rum Cask Finish
    The Stats
    • ABV: 43%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Killara Distillery and initially matured in an apera cask before being finished in an ex-rum cask. Bottled for the Sydney Whisky Fair 2021.
    • Location: Richmond, TAS
    • Score: 89
    Nose
    Light molasses, sugar cane juice and a slight squash ball rubberiness. Apera cask influence is lurking.
    Palate
    High ester, zingy palate. Green apple with warm banana porridge. Yellow rock sugar, fresh cane juice and jumbo raisins.
    Finish
    Ripe papaya skins, rum and raisin chocolate, and a big hit of malt at the end.
    Comments
    Well balanced, fruit, oak and spirit. The rum cask nicely accompanies the big Killara maltiness and the richness from the apera casks.
  • Riverbourne ‘Initiative’ Single Malt Rum Cask Matured
    The Stats
    • ABV: 52%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Mashed, distilled and matured at Riverbourne Distillery. 'Initiative #1' is a marriage of two ex-red wine casks that were initially matured for two years. Those casks were then married into an ex-Riverbourne rum cask and finished for a further eight months.
    • Location: Jingera, NSW
    • Score: 77
    Nose
    A little sharp and prickly. Jasmine, green mango, solvent and creamy vanilla oak.
    Palate
    Big here, but spirit heat is poking through. Black pepper and dry oak tannins. Struggling to find the rum notes, though.
    Finish
    Dissipates too quickly. Dry cocoa and spirit heat. Adding water didn't help much either.
    Comments
    Quality casks here, but it's a touch spirity and youthful and more time in cask would've helped to fully integrate the whole. Found the rum flavours struggled to shine through the dominance of the French oak/wine cask influence as well.
  • Lark Single Malt Whisky Rum Cask III
    The Stats
    • ABV: 55%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Nant Distillery and initially matured in 10 ex-sherry/apera casks before being finished in casks that previously held Lark's Quiet Canon Rum.
    • Location: Bothwell, TAS
    • Score: 83
    Nose
    Dried banana, raisins, golden syrup and currants. Fruitcake from the apera.
    Palate
    Bright maltiness, good viscosity, but a little sharp. Moderate apera cask influence over a mature malt. The rum notes are subtle, but get more pronounced as it progresses.
    Finish
    Some tannin and grip here and quite long. Rum, raisins and chewy fruits.
    Comments
    Some lovely flavours, but I found the entire journey a little disjointed and sharp, and the ABV held back the bright fruit and malt profile. Recommend adding water.
  • Black Gate Single Malt Whisky BG065 Apera/Rum/Rum
    The Stats
    • ABV: 70.1%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled June 2016 from a mash of Scottish peated malt. Matured in a third-fill cask that previously held rum (Black Gate's own), apera and whisky and bottled June 2021. 151 bottles in total.
    • Location: Mendooran, NSW
    • Score: 89
    Nose
    Iodine, tearing high esters, big and bold. Strong Bundeberg vibes, in a good way.
    Palate
    Sweet dirty peat - this is massive! The peat on the nose is a warning to what’s ahead here. Dirty and a little funky, but plenty of malty richness to round out the whole.
    Finish
    Malty, meaty and peaty.
    Comments
    It's a proper peat bomb, but well balanced by malt sweetness and the maturation is spot on. I struggled to find the rum cask influence thanks to the third-fill, but this is not your everyday rum cask finished whisky.
How We Score
Ev Liong
Ev Liong is one of Australia's most distinguished whisky and hospitality professionals. Over the last 16 years, she's been a venue manager, bartender and sommelier in some of the country's top bars and restaurants, including Whisky & Alement, Lee Ho Fook and Spice Temple, and designed numerous award-winning beverage programs and events. When not entertaining her two daughters, Ev now works as a spirits blender, consultant and spirits judge, and is more officially known as the 'Queen of the Dram'.