Cape Byron whisky burst on to the Australian scene in late 2022 with the official unveiling of its inaugural single malt releases. Of course, the distillery had long been established by then and was already well known for its gins. But well before the newmake malt spirit was even filled into casks back in 2019, whisky enthusiasts in Australia and further afield were already aware of the distillery and knew what was coming. That’s a pretty unusual situation for an Australian distillery, but then it’s also pretty unusual for an Australian distillery to have one of the giants and legends of the Scotch whisky industry – Jim McEwan, no less – onboard as a consultant, distiller, and business partner. To understand that arrangement, you have to go back to the beginning…
Cape Byron distillery is in the far north-east corner of New South Wales, just a 15 minute drive inland from famous Byron Bay, and 45 minutes south of the Queensland border. The distillery can trace its founding to two “parents” (figuratively speaking). Firstly, Martin and Pam Brook moved to the area in 1989 and started a macadamia farm, whilst simultaneously embarking on a significant program of rainforest restoration and regeneration. (The family would go on to plant over 35,000 trees!) Secondly, one of their sons, Eddie Brook, having grown up on the farm, subsequently went into the drinks industry after leaving school, eventually working for South Trade – a spirits importing and distribution company.
South Trade was appointed as the Australian distributor for Bruichladdich in 2012, and Eddie became Bruichladdich’s account manager and brand ambassador in Australia. In 2014, Eddie found himself responsible for co-ordinating and chaperoning Jim McEwan on his Bruichladdich promotional tour around Australia in October that year. (Fun fact…yours truly co-hosted and co-presented a joint Bruichladdich/SMWS tasting with Jim and Eddie in Sydney as part of that tour. There’s an account of that evening here). Eddie and Jim formed a bond and a friendship out of that tour, and it was from their discussions and joint enthusiasm that the idea for starting a gin distillery was born. (It’s often forgotten that Jim also had a hand behind The Botanist gin, noting that the gin is made at the Bruichladdich distillery!)
It didn’t take long for enthusiasm to graduate into reality, and the distillery was up and running by 2017 – the first gins were launched that same year under the brand name “Brookie’s Gin”. McEwan spent time at the distillery in the lead up, helping to get it established and fine tuning the processes whilst simultaneously teaching Eddie the art and craft of distilling. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t long until the pair figured that whisky production should be added to Cape Byron’s portfolio, and Jim returned to Australia to collaborate once again. The first malt spirit flowed from the still in early 2019.
For Cape Byron’s whisky production, the distillery initially outsourced its wash, which was brewed down the road at the Stone & Wood brewery. The distillery still utilises Stone & Wood to do its mashing and produce the wort, but Cape Byron recently installed two new 8,000 litre fermenters and now does their own brewing on site. The distillery started out with a very familiar-looking 2,000L pot still from the Knapp Lewer stable…the single still was thus used for both the low wines and spirit runs. However, again as part of their recent whisky production upgrade, they’ve now installed a significantly larger 4,400L still for the wash distillation, and the 2,000L still is now a dedicated spirit still. Bucking the trend of many Australian distilleries, Eddie & Jim elected to fill the spirit chiefly into American oak, sourcing ex-bourbon barrels from Kentucky and ex-Tennessee whiskey barrels from Tennessee. A new maturation warehouse has been built at the foot of the rainforest (complete with a live waterfall!) to create a unique aging environment.
Cape Byron whisky has launched with two “core range” products, namely The Original and the Chardonnay Cask. The Original is bottled at 47% ABV; the Chardonnay Cask at 48% ABV. Both expressions are non-chillfiltered and are keenly priced at A$125 and A$140 respectively, in 700ml bottles. The Original is made entirely from spirit matured in American oak, ex-bourbon casks. The Chardonnay Cask is a blend of the aforementioned ex-bourbon casks, and also ex-chardonnay casks from the Australian wine industry. (It is thus a blending of spirits from two different cask types, rather than a finish). Other cask types have been filled and will be used/unveiled in other releases down the track. Not surprisingly, given McEwan’s Islay heritage, Cape Byron has also distilled peated malt, with the malt coming from Scotland. The first peated spirit isn’t quite at two years old yet, but expect a possible release later in 2023.
The Original and Chardonnay Cask releases are made in batches, with each batch being a vatting of multiple casks. Whilst vatting and blending will ensure a reliable and consistent house style, minor variances between batches is to be expected, particularly as the stock gets older. To this end, Cape Byron is unique for having an impressive and laudable system in place that gives full transparency to the consumer. The label on each bottle states the batch number, the number of bottles, and the number of your bottle! In the event of there being an issue or query with any bottle or release, the distillery can easily trace back to each step and ingredient in the process to identify the source, history, and provenance.
As more and more whisky distilleries pop up all over the country, one of the ongoing narratives in the Australian whisky industry is how each distillery deals with its local climate, environment, and the resulting maturation. Hot and dry conditions typically form part of that narrative, but Cape Byron distillery further bucks the trend in that regard. While being close to the Queensland border implies a hotter climate, Byron Bay is obviously on the coast, and the distillery is deeply nestled in the hinterland’s rainforest. The microclimate for the maturing casks thus experiences significantly cooler temperatures that are more consistent throughout the year, as well as being relatively more humid.
So with all that as background, let’s do a quick stocktake: (i) Jim McEwan’s involvement; (ii) full-size, 200 litre, American oak ex-bourbon barrels; (iii) multiple casks vatted for each release; (iv) lower temperature maturation in a damp environment; and (v) whisky bottled non-chillfiltered at strengths above 46% ABV. Needless to say, it’s a different set up and approach to that seen at many other Australian distilleries, and the resulting whisky differs accordingly. Perhaps not surprisingly, The Original, tasted and reviewed in detail below, is not a long way removed in style from some familiar Scottish single malts and – call it psychosomatic – I couldn’t help but find some similarities with Cape Byron whisky to some of the characteristics and features found in Bruichladdich’s “Classic Laddie”. Let’s explore it in more detail:
Cape Byron “The Original” 47% ABV (Batch 3, 1630 bottles)
Colour: Pale gold
Nose: Clean, fresh, and with a light – almost teasingly so – fruitiness. The unmistakable scent of ex-bourbon cask maturation sings out, and if someone served you this blind and told you it was a Royal Brackla or similar, you’d believe them. With time, the nose gives off scents of pine, lime citrus, Portuguese tarts, and perhaps some vanilla sponge cake with a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Palate: The slick, oily mouthfeel fills the palate with its rich texture – what a superb decision to bottle this at 47% and leave it un-chillfiltered. The palate offers up bread and butter pudding, buttered crumpets (with perhaps a drizzle of honey), and just a tiny hint of meringue pie. That light fruitiness never strays too far from the centre. There’s an overall sweetness to the spirit that develops with time in the glass, offering hints of sherbet, peach and apricot syrup, kaffir lime, and more vanilla.
Finish: Wonderfully warming, robust, and incredibly long – the oils linger on the palate for an eternity.
Comments: This is a superbly balanced whisky. Nothing dominates or shouts too loudly. Perhaps it’s knowledge-association and the power of suggestion, but returning to the nose after a few minutes, it’s hard not to imagine you’re breathing in the aromas of the rainforest. It’s a lighter style of whisky, and it’s refined and elegant. As mentioned above, there are aspects of this whisky’s character (not necessarily its flavour) that are reminiscent of what Classic Laddie achieved for Bruichladdich.
One imagines fans of the Australian whiskies that showcase the oak and tannins from heavy fortifieds or wine cask maturation might possibly find this on the quiet side, but this is an essay in refinement and balance, rather than a bombastic smack around the chops by a highly alcoholic liqueur. What’s more, it develops and changes significantly with time in the glass. Pour yourself a healthy dram and take at least 10 minutes to explore this and unravel it. You’ll be rewarded with a complex and dynamic whisky that deeply satisfies.
– – – – – –
For a more detailed background on Cape Byron’s story and to hear more about how Eddie Brook and Jim McEwan collaborated, you can check out James Atkinson’s excellent Drinks Adventures podcast and his interview with Eddie and Jim here. And you can swing by Cape Byron Distillery’s website here.
Cheers,
AD
PS: You also might like our article, “The challenges of starting a new whisky brand“.
PPS: For those that care about such things, Whisky & Wisdom did not receive a press release, or a sample bottle, or a request from a PR agent to promote the product. We rarely do. As is often the case, W&W simply purchased a bottle as a punter, and felt compelled to tell the whisky’s story.
So the first spirit flowed in 2019 – that’s 3 years in 200 litre barrels. Normally it would take 4-5 years in a 100 litre barrel to mature, so I suspect this dram will be very young indeed. However I have great respect for Jim so I look forward to trying some.when I’m in the area later this year.