With new local distilleries or independent bottlers/releases launching and popping up all over Australia, it’s easy to overlook some of the long-time brands that have been waving the flag all along. But you overlook these at your peril – particularly when one of those distilleries brings along something that truly hits great heights.
Bakery Hill is one such distillery. Established in 1999, it is one of the oldest of the current crop of Australian distilleries, and – as we explored in this article previously – it’s a quiet achiever that lets its whiskies do the talking. You’ll not see or hear much from them on social media, even as they steadily and consistently win awards and accolades from around the world. But your tastebuds should tune in to what they’re doing.
One of Bakery Hill’s great appeals is its consistency of product. Whilst several distilleries still lurch from good to poor to spectacular to mediocre with each successive single cask release, Bakery Hill has been around long enough to find its operating and procedural “sweet spot” and they stick to it. It has a core range of products that both impress and deliver – case in point, their Peated Malt Cask Strength was awarded “Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year” in Jim Murray’s 2020 Bible. No mean feat.
So with such bona fides established, it’s exciting when they then bring along something new to the table. And delicious to boot. Bakery Hill’s “The Blunderbuss” is one such whisky, and its story is worth telling….
The whisky was distilled in 2013 and filled into an American oak ex-bourbon cask, where it matured initially for six years. It was then finished for a further year in a special cask. This finishing cask had previously matured Bakery Hill peated spirit for over a decade, before being gifted to Hop Nation, where it was used to mature their Kalash Russian Imperial Stout. After three to four months of maturing the stout, the cask was returned to Bakery Hill and used for the finish.
The result is an incredible whisky that has been crafted and shaped by many different influences: The American oak. The original filling of bourbon. The filling of Bakery Hill’s peated whisky. The previous filling of stout. Bottled at 52% and limited at just under 300 bottles, it’s a unique and very tasty piece in the Australian whisky landscape.
The good folks at Bakery Hill were kind enough to send a preview to Whisky & Wisdom, and we sat down with a dram to put it through its paces:
Nose: The initial nose hints at sweetness with rich, thick caramel – but it then turns astoundingly savoury: Beef stock, and perhaps even horseradish, but without the “sting”. Burnt butter & sage. Perhaps it’s the power of suggestion, but there are hints of dark roasted malt, i.e. stout. (Perhaps a milk stout?). With time in the glass, the more fragrant and floral notes we typically associate with Bakery Hill start to assert themselves.
Palate: Again, the dark roasted malt is apparent, but with a touch of milk coffee as well. Great balance of oak and spirit. Some dark chocolate rounds out the palate. Alcohol balance is near perfect at 52% – neither underdone nor overwhelming. The sweetness is a delicious combination of the maltiness from the spirit and the contribution of vanillins from the oak. It is entirely natural and doesn’t seem forced or artificially layered on top.
Finish: Cola jubes and beef stock, with some malty sweetness returning to the centre stage. Great length, too.
Comments: The nose is incredibly complex – those with a keen sense of smell could analyse this for ages and never get bored. The palate – whilst robust and with depth – is fresh and vibrant….not weighed down by tannins or a drying texture. It offers a wonderful new interpretation and nuance to the Bakery Hill house style.
The Blunderbuss will be available via the distillery’s online shop at www.bakeryhill.com, and also from a small number of independent liquor outlets around the country.
Whilst we’ve got the spotlight on Bakery Hill, let’s have a sneak peek at some other special releases they’ve got planned in the near future….
- The distillery has partnered with The Whisky Club for its June release, providing members with a so-called Belgian Double Wood. Made from Belgian Pilzen malted barley, it was matured initially in American oak and then transferred to French oak.
- Later this year, the distillery will release a very special batch of lightly peated 12 year old whisky that was from the first batch of end-to-end production at their Bayswater distillery. (Prior to this, Bakery Hill’s wash was brewed off-site at the Mountain Goat Brewery). The whisky was thus entirely milled, mashed, distilled, and matured on site.
- Other works-in-progress on the production line for future bottling are a Double Wood Cask Strength (at 60% ABV), a Muscat Finish (from an ex-muscat barrel from Pimpernel Winery in Yarra Valley), a Sherry Finish (from Barossa French oak sherry barrels), and some peated malt that’s maturing in French oak barrels (the standard Bakery Hill Peated Malt is matured in American oak).
So, lots to look forward to. But for now, keep your eyes peeled for The Blunderbuss release, available from June 5th.
Cheers,
AD
My Blunderbuss was delivered yesterday. Today after a huge day of glider maintenance, I enjoyed a Bentspoke Russian Imperial Stout with dinner – their best ever – and a couple of hours later opened the Blunderbuss. WOW!
Nose: Honey and french nougat, nuts, lavender, raspberry macaroon, peat smoke and rich malt stout. Lovely layers of aromas.
Flavour: Fresh honey, shortbread, slightly citric macaroon, lovely luscious malt with a hint of raisin.
Finish: Luxurious mouthfeel, soft, lingering sweetness, lingering velvet stout maltiness without any bitterness, like licking a spoon from a malt jar – beguiling.
Amazingly layered and balanced dram. Just gorgeous.