As the Australian whisky revival and renaissance marches on, there are now countless highlights and spikes on the radar. Australian whiskies winning awards; new distilleries being established; new releases being launched…the scene now generates its own continuously scrolling newsfeed.
As for the Australian distillers and distilleries themselves, the field has grown to the point where there is a marked split between the craft players and the big guys that now run genuinely industrial and commercial operations.
Archie Rose Distillery in Sydney finds itself very much in that second category, despite being only four years old. The name and brand is perhaps less well-known amongst whisky drinkers, as the distillery’s relatively youthful age means it has not had aged whisky ready for the market yet. However, by every metric, it is an incredibly established and successful distillery, for whisky is just but one of their pursuits. Gins, rums, vodkas, malted ryes, and other unique spirits make for a busy distilling schedule and all products released to date have received justified praise, recognition and acclaim.
However, Whisky & Wisdom is a whisky resource and it’s the stuff made from barley that gets us excited. So it was with joy and anticipation that W&W recently attended the launch of Archie Rose’s new Six Malt New Make release.
It’s always fascinating to taste new make spirit – it showcases the DNA of the distillery and the spirit’s character before the interaction with oak plays its role. And, as is universally acknowledged, no amount of good wood or maturation can rescue poor quality spirit. So much thus hinges on the new make spirit and distillers can be confident they’re on the right track when their new make is tasty and drinkable before it’s even hit the wood. In this regard, Archie Rose can hold its head high. Very high.
As the name suggests, the spirit has been produced from a mashbill containing six different malts. That’s in stark contrast to the vast majority of distillers, and certainly to the mainstream/commercial brands and distilleries. For example, every Scottish distillery uses a single variety of malt. Whether it’s optic, concerto, chariot, or whatever, the commercial realities of big business dictate they use one malt-type. The selection of which malt to use is no accident, nor is it clouded by romantic notions of flavour: It’s all about yield and extracting the maximum litres of alcohol per tonne of barley. For mainstream distillers, the magic target to aim for is 400-415 litres of pure alcohol per tonne of grain.
In stark contrast to this, Archie Rose is pursuing flavour, not yield. For example, one of the speciality malts used in the Six Malt mashbill yields a ridiculously low 40 litres of alcohol per tonne. You read that right: That’s just 10% of the output a distillery run by accountants would insist on!
And so what are the six malts? Five of the six malts come from NSW and include a traditional distiller’s malt and also a brewer’s malt (La Trobe pale malt). But it’s the four speciality malts that make things interesting: An amber biscuit malt, a caramel malt, a heavily kilned chocolate malt, and also a peated malt. The malts are combined into one mash and fermented as a single wash before distillation.
So that’s the story of the Six Malt New Make, but how does it taste? It’s been bottled at 50% ABV and thus has a pleasing warmth and strength.
The nose is perfumed, but – unlike Scottish new make – it’s sweet and earthy, rather than being overly floral. There is the most delicious and tantalising spray of lime zest, and the cereal kicks in with an incredible and pronounced sense of sweetened porridge.
On the palate, the spirit is dry and – again – earthy. There are elements that invoke aspects of gin with hints of fruit and botanicals. The light, delicate florals that we so typically associate with Scottish new make are nowhere to be found here. No, this is Australian: Bold, generous, robust, strong, characterful, and no wallflower. The six different malts were chosen to impart flavour, and it’s flavour they inject. Importantly, it’s drinkable in its own right for those who enjoy neat spirits. Of course, the team behind the bar at Archie Rose are class-leaders when it comes to cocktails, and they’ve come up with some sensational cocktails that showcase the Six Malt New Make in incredible ways. If you can get to the distillery, you must try the Six Malt Old Fashioned.
Archie Rose’s Six Malt New Make is available as a limited release and can be purchased online from the distillery for $119. This particular batch yielded 3,000 bottles, so move quickly. In the meantime, whisky lovers can sit happily knowing that this same spirit is sitting in casks right now and is taking on even wider and deeper characteristics as it matures.
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As an added bonus on the night of the launch, attendees were treated to some other Archie Rose works-in-progress. This included still-maturing whisky that was 18 months old from a 100 litre Australian Apera cask. Young as it is, the dram was incredibly rich and showing all the right signs of developing into something incredible.
This was followed by a dram of Archie Rose’s aged rye whisky – in this case, just shy of three years old. Tasted at 69% and from a 100L virgin oak cask that had been air-dried for 36 months, this is possibly one of the greatest Australian spirits I’ve ever tasted. It’s a malt drinker’s rye, with all the spice and character of rye, but without the cloying, overdone sweetness that comes hand-in-hand with American ryes. This whisky is a game-changer and stocks will need to be managed carefully when the product eventually gets its official launch.
And to round out the night, a spirit from left-field: Best described as an Agricole rum (although not old enough yet to officially qualify as rum), this was a distillation of fresh pressed sugar cane juice that the distillery ran through the stills in August 2016. Defying comparison to any other rum, it stands in its own camp – but a delicious one at that.
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Congratulations to founder Will Edwards and to distiller Dave Withers, who’ve not just established an incredible distillery, but are producing incredible spirits. Sadly, a lot of Australian distillery start-ups that have set out in the last five years are unlikely to go the distance. In contrast, Archie Rose has perhaps the rosiest future of the lot.
Also, don’t forget that Archie Rose is more than a distillery – it’s also a destination. The bar at the distillery is one of Sydney’s best whisky bars, and also happens to be a Partner Bar with The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The distillery also offers comprehensive tours, tastings, events, and experiences. Check it all out at www.archierose.com.au
Cheers,
AD
