Review: Mixed grain Australian whiskies

Luke McCarthy -
Whisky Reviews
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On tasting: Dugite Australian Whiskey, The Grove Corn Mash Whiskey, Nonesuch Single Grain Whisky, Wild River Mountain Distillery Australian Whisky, Whipper Snapper Project Q Quinoa Whiskey and Belgrove Oat Whisky (Batch 4)

This was one of the most fascinating line-ups I’ve sat down with this year. Yes, it was a slightly up-and-down experience (still tasting that bloody quinoa). But when you consider how successful Australia is at growing so many different high-quality grains, surely our whiskies should reflect that diversity.

There’s no doubt that single malt is the safe option for whisky-makers. ‘Single malt’ is almost a brand in itself, and consumers are attracted to the standard of quality it signifies.

But I’d love to see more Australian corn, rye and mixed grain whiskies. The trend has already started, with Starward’s Two Fold leading the charge. Then you’ve got the rye brigade with Archie, The Gospel, Backwoods and Belgrove. Bourbon-style corn whiskies from Whipper Snapper (Upshot) and Ned are now finding an audience, too.

Most of the bottlings reviewed below are testing the waters, but you can see glimpses of how good these whiskies might become. They’re great for getting the mixing tools out as well; the price and spice on offer makes these brilliant in cocktails and mixed drinks. And with another Australian summer on the way, I can’t wait to rustle up some tasty concoctions for friends in the warmer months (fingers crossed).

  • Dugite Australian Whiskey
    The Stats
    • ABV: 40%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Mixed grain whisky
    • Production Story: Starts with a mixed grain mash of corn, rye, barley, wheat and occasionally triticale (a wheat-rye hybrid) which is mashed, fermented and then distilled at Tiger Snake Distillery. This mixed grain whisky is then married with malt whisky, also distilled at Tiger Snake, to produce the final Dugite blend. All components are aged for two to three years in ex-Bourbon barrels.
    • Location: Porongorup, WA
    • Score: 76
    Nose
    A little new make, some spice and cereal, cornflakes, but really youthful. With time, bubblegum, vanilla, hints of white pepper from the rye, some citrus and wheat biscuits. Very light.
    Palate
    Still quite young here. Clean, with minimal cask influence and lacking in body and length. Some nice pears, vanilla and a touch of mint and rye.
    Finish
    Not much to report here.
    Comments
    Passable stuff, but it just needs a bit more oomph and flavour and more time in barrel for the component whiskies. Love to see those cereals come through, or more spice from the rye, maybe more oak influence - virgin American oak would work a treat. But great to mix: tasty with dry ginger ale and it's solid in a whisky sour as well.
  • The Grove Corn Mash Whiskey
    The Stats
    • ABV: 40%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Corn whisky
    • Production Story: Majority corn mash, with a smaller percentage of rye, distilled at The Grove through their German Arnold Holstein still (pot-column). Matured for a minimum two years in 50 litre new American oak casks.
    • Location: Wilyabrup, WA
    • Score: 78
    Nose
    Cherries, maraschino, creme de mure, almost ribenna-like. Lovely new oak notes: creaming soda and wood shavings.
    Palate
    Spicy rye upfront and sort of a sweet corn fritter thing. Then coconut, Big Red Gum and raspberry jubes. On the mid-palate, it gets very dry and oaky, almost cloying.
    Finish
    Not the longest, and that strong American oak is lingering.
    Comments
    The nose on this is great, but on the palate, it's taken on a bit too much new oak and the corn gets lost. Some great flavours, lovely raspberry notes. Tried this in a manhattan and an old fashioned, worked well in both.
  • Nonesuch Single Grain Whisky
    The Stats
    • ABV: 45%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Mixed grain whisky
    • Production Story: Chris Burdon at Nonesuch mashes together his own take on Bourbon here, with a proprietary blend of corn, rye and barley. Distilled through Nonesuch's Knapp Lewer pot stills, and then matured in a 20 litre ex-Bourbon cask for a minimum two years. Bottled May 2020. 35 bottles in total.
    • Location: Forcett, TAS
    • Score: 84
    Nose
    Creamy and buttery, lovely sweet cereal, and then the rye, sort of earthy. Vanilla wafers, green fruits - granny smiths and kiwis - and a lick of orange.
    Palate
    Pronounced rye initially. A little prickly, then menthol, cloves and star anise. Buttery as it progresses, with dark spice and corn bread.
    Finish
    Great drive, finishes with a rye kick.
    Comments
    A Tasmanian perspective on mixed grain whisky. Thick, oily, lovely pepperiness from the rye. Really enjoyable, and so well-balanced - love the mashbill. The score would've headed north with just a bit more finesse in maturation, but otherwise, top stuff.
  • Wild River Mountain Distillery Australian Whisky
    The Stats
    • ABV: 45%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Mixed grain whisky
    • Production Story: A majority barley mash, 60%, with the other 40% coming from Atherton tablelands corn. Distilled at Wild River Mountain Distillery and matured for two years in a re-coopered 50L ex-shiraz American oak barrel. Distilled March 3rd 2018 and bottled March 27th, 2020.
    • Location: Wondecla, QLD
    • Score: 81
    Nose
    Milk coffee, sort of mocha, gooey caramel and leather. You get some sweetness from the wine but a lot of wood here too. A bit hard to get at the spirit, but some tropical fruits, peaches and guava come out with time.
    Palate
    Again, rich and woody. Dark chocolate, fudge, sort of a roasted malt/chocolate malt character. The casks have added great flavours, just maybe too much - timber is very prominent. Gets more dense and dry.
    Finish
    Light, dark chocolate finish. Bourneville cocoa powder.
    Comments
    There's a lot that's right here. The spirit and the cask come together to create this rich, chocolatey experience, but there's just a bit too much wood and it's hard to get at the spirit underneath. Still makes for good drinking, and once that balance between spirit and oak is achieved, this will make for a tasty tropical drop.
  • Whipper Snapper Project Q Quinoa Whiskey
    The Stats
    • ABV: 46.5%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Quinoa whisky
    • Production Story: Starts with a majority quinoa mash (65%), which is joined by 25% corn and 10% malted barley, distilled through Whipper Snapper's Arnold Holstein pot-column still. Matured for three years in casks that previously held Whipper Snapper's Upshot whiskey.
    • Location: Perth, WA
    • Score: 70
    Nose
    Lord, it's a confronting thing. Tomato stems, cardamon, sort of new carpet. Old dust blown in your face. Shearing shed. Burnt hay. Just the slightest hint of corn cob.
    Palate
    Much better here (thank god). But even then, it's hard to get past the quinoa, which is like a cross between jalapenos and rye bread. The cask is trying to rescue things, but it's losing.
    Finish
    Herbal and dry.
    Comments
    Confronting, different, a great story, but not for me. It's not badly made, and it's better on the palate, but I really couldn't recommend buying a bottle of this, particularly at that price. So green and dense, and there's not enough nice stuff to counteract the crazy quinoa flavour. I don't eat quinoa often, but this whisky makes me glad I don't.
  • Belgrove Oat Whisky (Batch 4)
    The Stats
    • ABV: 59%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Mixed grain whisky/oat whisky
    • Production Story: A very unique majority oat whisky, created using 65% oats with equal amounts of rye, barley and wheat for the rest of the mash. All of the grains involved are grown at Belgrove, a remarkable achievement, and the mash is then fermented and distilled through Peter's self-built pot still. This batch was matured in used whisky barrels and bottled 21st of May 2020.
    • Location: Kempton, TAS
    • Score: 90
    Nose
    Honey on porridge, spicy oak, cloves and passionfruit. Sort of spry, grassy and peppery, and it gets very floral and refined as it opens up.
    Palate
    Like eating fresh grains, amazing cereal character. Macadamia, vanilla and more honey, red apples, toast and burnt banana bread. The classic Belgrove crackle underneath.
    Finish
    Big flourish of spice and burnt cereals.
    Comments
    Off the hook good. If you want serious complexity in a whisky, you gotta try this. I'll admit, it's a whisky geeks whisky, and I've got a massive soft spot for this project (I actually prefer this to Peter's rye - sacrilege, I know). It's continued to get better batch to batch - fruitier, creamier - and the tropical top notes now emerging are something else. If you time travelled 200 years into the past and managed to track down some of the best whisky being made then, I reckon it might taste something like this. Special stuff.
How We Score
Luke McCarthy
Luke McCarthy is the editor and publisher of Oz Whisky Review. An independent writer, author and drinks columnist, Luke's written about whisky and spirits for numerous Australian and international publications and is a judge at the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards. His book, The Australian Spirits Guide, the first to tackle the history and resurgence of the Australian spirits industry, was published in 2016 by Hardie Grant Books.