Review: Smoky Australian malt whiskies

Luke McCarthy -
Whisky Reviews
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On tasting: Iniquity Peated Shiraz Solera, Loch Heavily Peated PX Sherry Cask, Starward Unexpeated, Timboon Smoky 1881, Furneaux Distillery Smoky Wedding Double Oak

I’ve been immersed in peated whisky over the last few weeks. It’s been a comforting balm amidst all the chaos, and thankfully, there’s now plenty of Australian peated whiskies to explore with varying levels of smoke and solace.

The big peated offerings find an eager audience in Australia this time of year, but I’ve been loving the subtlety and integration these recent releases are showing.

Of course, there’s the perpetual to and fro here about the ultimate way to make Australian peated whisky. But in the main, distillers are just getting on with it and chasing flavour.

The provenance of the peat, while important for some, is less so for others, and with so many distilleries now releasing peated offerings, on the numbers, imported peated malt looks like it’s starting to win out.

There were a couple of recent bottlings I was also hoping to include here, namely the new Adams peated pinot slosh cask, made from New Zealand peated malt, but the recent lockdowns prevented me from picking them up.

We’ll get to them, and a host of others, soon enough. Meanwhile, get a taste of these while they’re still available.

  • Iniquity Solera Peated Shiraz Single Malt Whisky
    The Stats
    • ABV: 43%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Tin Shed Distilling Co. from malt that was dry smoked with local peat. Matured predominately in ex-shiraz casks and married together using a solera method. First released July 2021.
    • Location: Adelaide. SA
    • Score: 83
    Nose
    Gentle smoke, with cured meat and rain on a hot road. Biscuits, hay and hints of youth, but then the classic Iniquity butterscotch emerges. Crunchy red wine from the casks.
    Palate
    Better here. Viscous and leathery. Less smoke on the palate, and the wine is more prominent here, too, but it's nicely balanced and never becomes cloying.
    Finish
    Cereal and wine, with some grunge and diesel at the back.
    Comments
    Solid stuff. Good integration between the smoke, malt and wine, and the team have ensured that the wine flavour doesn't become too dominant. Love the design and pricepoint. The guys also recommend mixing with this, and I'd start with Old Fashioneds and Manhattans and then see how it takes to something like a Boulevardier.
  • Loch Heavily Peated PX Sherry Cask Single Malt Whisky
    The Stats
    • ABV: 41%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Loch Brewery & Distillery from 100% heavily peated Scottish malt. Matured in casks coopered down from large Pedro Ximenez sherry casks and bottled April 2021.
    • Location: Loch, VIC
    • Score: 86
    Nose
    Pastrami and mince pie. Earthy smoke and roasted malts as it opens up, with fruit cake, dark chocolate and cocoa nibs.
    Palate
    Super chewy and mouth coating here. Cloves and jam, and although there's plenty of PX involved, it's not overdone. The peat comes on like lanolin and charred wood, and it's not as heavy as I expected.
    Finish
    Mulled wine and dried apricots. Again, the peat smoke is soft, but it lingers.
    Comments
    Spend some time with this one and you'll keep making new discoveries. Brilliant cask selection, and the smokiness is restrained but persistent throughout. There's a good number of experimental casks in the Loch bond store, so expect a few more gems like this in future.
  • Starward Unexpeated Single Malt Whisky
    The Stats
    • ABV: 48%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled in 2017 at New World Whisky Distillery and initially matured in red wine casks before undergoing a finish in casks that previously matured heavily peated Islay whiskies. Bottled July 2021.
    • Location: Melbourne, VIC
    • Score: 90
    Nose
    Classic Starward red fruits and spice upfront. Toffee and tobacco, and the peated cask influence is very subtle, hints at beaches and brine.
    Palate
    The expected caramel and fruit. On the mid-to-back palate is where the peated casks make their presence felt. It tempers the wine influence, dries out the richness into something more savoury and umami, with ash and the slightest hint of iodine if you're really looking for it. Lovely estery fruits coming through as well - there's some well matured whisky lurking in here.
    Finish
    Lingering flourish of peat over red berries and wine.
    Comments
    Yummo. The peated cask influence is minimal, it's more of an accent, especially when tasted next to other peated malts. But it adds just enough intrigue, and the whole package has come together seamlessly. Wasn't sure how the smoke would marry up with the Starward profile, but it actually works well - calls to mind some red wine cask matured Hazelburns. Perfect for those looking for an introduction to peated whisky, and I reckon this would mix well in a number of classics, too.
  • Timboon Smoky 1881 Single Malt Whisky
    The Stats
    • ABV: 47%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled 28th of November 2016 at Timboon Distillery from a mash where small portions of Scottish peated barely were added. Matured in 200 litre American oak ex-tawny casks and bottled 13th of January 2021.
    • Location: Timboon, VIC
    • Score: 85
    Nose
    Sweet malt, vanilla and eucalyptus. A little prickle of alcohol upfront, but that blows off and the malt continues to announce itself. Green fruits - a Timboon signature - and a wisp of smoke.
    Palate
    Plenty of vanilla from the American oak. Not as oak and tawny-forward as some Timboon malts - that's the bigger cask playing its role. But this is really well integrated. The tawny adds flashes of berries and dried figs, and again, the peat comes later with charcoal smoke and moss.
    Finish
    Vanilla and sweet peat lingering. ABV's spot on.
    Comments
    So well thought out. Larger cask (yes!), subtle smoke, and you get a good look at the round and creamy malt profile which provides great structure and flavour here.
  • Furneaux Distillery Smoky Wedding Double Oak
    The Stats
    • ABV: 48%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Furneaux Distillery from a combination of Flinders Island smoked malt and heavily peated malt from Scotland. For this bottling, spirit was matured in a combination of French oak tawny and ex-Bourbon casks and married together. Bottled July 2021. 315 bottles in total.
    • Location: Flinders Island, TAS
    • Score: 88
    Nose
    Treacle and malt, barbecued pork ribs and charred wood. You get the herbal coastal influence as it opens up - dried kelp and hot sand - but there's plenty of spice and juice from the cask already here.
    Palate
    As the nose suggested, so rich and creamy. Great interplay between the two cask types. Goes from cloves to cherry brandy as the tawny and ex-Bourbon mingle.
    Finish
    Big finish. Rich and spicy, salted lemon biscuits, brine and red vermouth.
    Comments
    They're finding great results by mixing these two styles of malt, and although this is more cask driven than previous releases - where the peated malt shined through - this oozes complexity. A couple of moments where individual notes hang out, but otherwise, this is gooood.
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.