Whisky review: That Boutique-y Whisky Co’s Australia Series

Luke McCarthy -
Whisky Reviews
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On tasting: TBWC Killara Distillery 2 Year Old, TBWC Starward Distillery 3 Year Old, TBWS Riverbourne Distillery 3 Year Old,  TBWC Tin Shed Distilled Co. 3 Year Old, TBWC Fleurieu Distillery 3 Year Old, TBWC Black Gate Distillery 3 Year Old, TBWC Bakery Hill Distillery 5 Year Old and TBWC Belgrove Distillery 4 Year Old

This was one of the most enjoyable flights I’ve sat down with in a long while. I was excited when I first heard about this series, and honestly, it was genuinely exciting to sit down and taste through the entire line-up.

The obvious questions: do these whiskies display something distinctively Australian? Do they say something about how whisky is made here? And will international whisky fans be able to taste through the range and say, right, that’s what an Australian whisky tastes like?

You can certainly taste the quality of Australia’s fortified wine casks here. The pronounced maltiness our single malts display also stands out in this line-up.

But if anything, I think what this series demonstrates is how many different approaches and styles you find being produced in Australia now.

Different cask treatments and distillation methods are on show. The range of specialty malts and grains Australian distillers use is also palpable. You even get a sense of what maturation in different parts of the country does to an Australian distillate.

In fact, one of the thoughts that popped into my head when tasting the range was – why has it taken an international independent bottler so long to put something like this together?

Are the whiskies bottled here flawless? No, and neither are most Australian whiskies. But what a series like this shows is that there are some genuinely distinctive whiskies being produced in Australia now, and at their best, they can be stonkingly good.

Where the Boutique-y team have really nailed it is in capturing the fun and zaniness that characterises much of Australian whisky making. For that, they should be applauded (the labels are hilarious).

So this is ‘Batch 1’, and I do hope we see more Australian releases from Boutique-y in future. Because there’s one thing this series makes clear – these whiskies are only going to get better.

  • TBWC Killara Distillery Single Malt 2 Year Old (Batch 1)
    The Stats
    • ABV: 49%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Killara Distillery and matured for two years in a 100 litre tawny cask (and can't be called 'whisky' in the UK and Europe as a result). Bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. 130 bottles in total.
    • Location: Richmond, TAS
    • Score: 84
    Nose
    Nutty and malty, sort of almond liqueur and then hints of new make. Fairly subtle for a Killara malt. Some earthiness and smoke comes with time in glass, but that blows off to reveal that distinctive Killara butterscotch character.
    Palate
    All the classic Killara stuff here. The youth mellows with time in glass, and it opens up into raspberry jam, toast and caramel popcorn.
    Finish
    Some heat here on the initial passes. With time, more caramel and malt.
    Comments
    I get the idea: the Killara new make is stunning stuff, and bottling it at this age really shows it off. And while it's a tasty package, as the youngest and most expensive in the series, I'm not sure it has the integration to justify the premise - the official Killara bottlings I've tasted are more together and mature. Give it some time in glass, though, and you'll see why Killara malts are so sought-after.
  • TBWC Starward Distillery Single Malt Whisky 3 Year Old (Batch 1)
    The Stats
    • ABV: 56%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Starward Distillery and matured for three years in a charred Barossa shiraz cask. Bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. 424 bottles in total.
    • Location: Melbourne, VIC
    • Score: 81
    Nose
    Lots of berries and bright red fruits. Some musty wine tannins, nutmeg, grapefruit. The wine cask influence is prominent, as you'd expect, and it gets more floral and pleasant with time.
    Palate
    Blackcurrants, sherbert, and booming red wine tannins. Becomes dry and timber-led as it moves along, and comes at the expense of the malt. Water calms the oak and reveals more Starward fruit.
    Finish
    A little dry and bitter here. Espresso and dark chocolate.
    Comments
    This works on the nose, but not so much on the palate, where it just gets a bit bitter and one note and lacks the counteracting richness and sweetness. A touch of water softened the tannin and brought out more malt for me, so a little surprised by the higher ABV.
  • TBWc Riverbourne Distillery Single Malt Whisky 3 Year Old (Batch 1)
    The Stats
    • ABV: 50%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Riverbourne Distillery and matured for three years in 50 litre recoopered ex-red wine casks. Bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. 109 bottles in total.
    • Location: Jingera, NSW
    • Score: 84
    Nose
    Slight kerosene note (pleasant). Sort of grungy upfront, with barrel char, wet oak and a whiff of leather and smoke. Gradually, the Riverbourne malt pokes through with toffee and freshly milled grain.
    Palate
    Wine notes from the cask are more prevalent here. Lengthens into caramel and malt biscuits, molasses and hay. That funky earthiness comes on here, too - reminiscent of some agricole, high ester rums.
    Finish
    Subtle oak and wine notes from the cask.
    Comments
    Rustic, earthy, spirit-forward - all the signatures from a Riverbourne malt. Maybe not as polished as some of the other distillery bottlings I've encountered, but really intriguing flavours on show here.
  • TBWC Tin Shed Distilled Co. Single Malt Whisky 3 Year Old (Batch 1)
    The Stats
    • ABV: 48%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Tin Shed Distilling Co. and initially matured in two ex-tawny casks for two years and then finished in a pinot gris cask for another year. Bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. 443 bottles in total.
    • Location: Adelaide, SA
    • Score: 86
    Nose
    All the classic rich tawny you'd expect from an Iniquity malt: brandied cherries, black forest cake and plenty of treacle. Then there's a citrusy, melon aspect to this from the pinot gris, which is surprising, and pretty cool.
    Palate
    Honey oats, ribenna and rich tawny. Some tannin and heat as it progresses, but that blows off on the second and third pass, and that peculiar, lemon menthol character from the pinot gris drops in and out.
    Finish
    Luscious juice, and keeps on going.
    Comments
    Pretty weird to see a tawny cask malt moved to an ex-pinot gris cask, but it works! The extra maturation has just softened and rounded out the influence of the tawny. Spot on with the bottling strength, too.
  • TBWC Fleurieu Distillery Single Malt Whisky 3 Year Old (Batch 1)
    The Stats
    • ABV: 49.5%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Fleurieu Distillery and matured for three years in an ex-apera cask. Bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. 236 bottles in total.
    • Location: Goolwa, SA
    • Score: 91
    Nose
    Woah. Big, rich and meaty - that's Fleurieu alright. Smoky bacon and pastrami - quite spicy initially - then custard, struck match and boozy fruitcake.
    Palate
    Yum. Super creamy, again the custard, and just the right level of grip from the cask. Burnt orange and brown sugar, subtle smoke, sea spray and citrus.
    Finish
    More please.
    Comments
    Yep, this is banging. It's got all the elements you'd expect from Fleurieu, and the cask has done its job perfectly. My pick of the bunch.
  • TBWC Black Gate Distillery Single Malt 3 Year Old Whisky (Batch 1)
    The Stats
    • ABV: 46%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Black Gate Distillery and matured for three years in an ex-apera cask. Bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. 231 bottles in total.
    • Location: Mendooran, NSW
    • Score: 86
    Nose
    Hmm, what's this subtle opening from a Black Gate? Red berries, apples, raspberry coulis, and you get some spice and prickle from the apera cask.
    Palate
    Palate coating stuff. All the classic burnt sugar and creme brulee you'd expect from a Black Gate. Sort of an apple brandy note, too - quite refined for a Mendooran malt.
    Finish
    Persistent and yum. Not quite the carry you'd expect from Black Gate, but still weighty and rich.
    Comments
    Black Gate gone all velvet. This has a creamy, fruity mellowness to it that you don't often associate with Black Gate. Again, another great choice of bottling strength. Shows what can be achieved in Australian conditions with the right spirit, cask and length of maturation.
  • TBWC Bakery Hill Distillery Single Malt Whisky 5 Year Old (Batch 1)
    The Stats
    • ABV: 50%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Single malt whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Bakery Hill Distillery from a mash of peated malt and matured for five years in a 200 litre ex-Bourbon cask. Bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. 390 bottles in total.
    • Location: Melbourne, VIC
    • Score: 88
    Nose
    Sweet peat and earthy smoke. Marzipan and lemon rind, and then green fruits and petrichor as it opens up.
    Palate
    Again, lovely balance of citrus, sweetness and smoke. Creamy and malty, and picks up some herbal oakiness as it moves along and the cask exerts its influence. Peat is so well integrated here.
    Finish
    Subtle but steadfast.
    Comments
    Classic, consistent Bakery Hill. This is probably the closest to an official bottling in this series - exactly what you expect to find from a BH peated offering.
  • TBWC Belgrove Distillery Rye Whisky 4 Year Old (Batch 1)
    The Stats
    • ABV: 49.8%
    • Price Band: $ $ $ $ $
    • Style: Rye whisky
    • Production Story: Distilled at Belgrove Distillery and matured for four years in an American oak cask that previously held Tasmanian single malt whisky (supposedly Sullivans Cove). Bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. 309 bottles in total.
    • Location: Kempton, TAS
    • Score: 85
    Nose
    Quite fresh and floral for a Belgrove. Green apples and dark rye bread, grass clippings, citrus and hints of shearing shed.
    Palate
    Spry and gingery upfront, then vanillas and some sweet malt notes. The less active cask has given the spirit free reign, so you get the Belgrove burnt caramel, the licorice, the earthy rye and hot metal.
    Finish
    Dense and chewy, with that slighty malty vanilla character persisting.
    Comments
    This really grows on you - a subtle, refined, and spirit-forward rye from Peter Bignell's stable. The ex-whisky cask has softened and molded this into something that should really appeal to Belgrove fans.
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.