The Australian whisky industry continues to keep its fans both delighted and curious as the list of new and emerging distilleries grows – seemingly unabated. It almost seems like a new distillery lifts its head above the parapet every month, and the latest to do so is the previously unheralded Morris.
That much, in itself, is a story. Many distilleries elect to announce their establishment through social media channels, and then drip feed news, pictures, and work-in-progress releases or similar teasers as they build brand awareness whilst waiting for their spirit to mature. In contrast to this, Morris went about its business with almost ninja-like stealth, before suddenly announcing its arrival with the launch of its first two initial releases.
Of course, Morris is anything but a new name in Australian drinks circles, with Morris of Rutherglen being one of the most famous and respected producers of fortified wines in the world. With such a long and celebrated history of making some of this country’s greatest muscats, sherries, ports, and tokays (okay, aperas, tawnys, and topaques), it was perhaps only a matter of time until they turned their attention to whisky. Little wonder, also, that they turned to their ex-wine cask inventory to mature their spirit!
Morris Whisky’s story goes back to 2016 when the subsidiary company, Copper & Grain Distilling Co. was formed to take the project forward. To put it frankly, they didn’t muck around, engaging the services of both John McDougall – one of the Scotch whisky industry’s most experienced and enduring distillers and distillery managers – as a consultant, and also the late Dr Jim Swan. Swan achieved many things over his lifetime, but he found particular fame and employment in his latter years as the go-to consultant and specialist for setting up new distilleries. His particular niche was developing and designing a distillery’s equipment, procedures, and operations in such a way that would allow the distillery to bring quality, matured whisky to market faster, rather than wait the traditional eight to ten years that would otherwise be the norm.
The distillery’s still (yes, just one) is a curious hybrid pot and column still that dates back to 1941 and is not a million miles away in shape and form from similar stills in use at 23rd Street distillery in South Australia. (Not surprising, given that the families behind both businesses come from a wine-making background and were making brandies and other base spirits for fortified wines).
Morris Whisky has launched with two single malt releases: Signature (RRP $95) and Muscat Barrel (RRP $140). The spirit for both has been matured in quite an assortment of casks, namely American and French oak ex-Shiraz and ex-Cabernet red wine barrels, which are then vatted to the whisky maker’s “recipe”. The Signature then takes that vatting and finishes the spirit in a combination of ex-fortified barrels. The Muscat Barrel, not surprisingly, is finished in Morris’ own Muscat barrels.
Images supplied courtesy of Morris. Click to enlarge
Now here’s where things get interesting and juicy. (Literally!) Seasoned fans and observers of Australian whisky will no doubt have read the above descriptions of the casks and the emphasis on wine barrels, and perhaps suspected – as I certainly did – that these would produce yet another oak-driven, wood-heavy, dry and tannic Aussie malt. The reality is, happily, far from it. The whiskies are light in body (though not in flavour), sweet without being cloying, wonderfully balanced, and with a mouthfeel that is juicy and refreshing – and not at all dry or over-oaked. I’m not the first to observe or say this, but my early thoughts echo the general chatter around town that there’s something a little Scottish about Morris Whisky. The balance, the taming of the oak, the texture on the palate, and even the bottle shape and packaging all have traits we’d associate with some of the fruitier Scottish single malts.
However, do not fear: This is unmistakably Australian. The front-forward injection of fruit, together with the spice and sweetness from the fortified casks gives these whiskies the zing we’re accustomed to.
Whisky & Wisdom sat down with a bottle of the Signature and assessed it over a few cold winter nights. Our thoughts as follows….
Morris “Signature”, 40% ABV
Nose: Red apples, Big Red chewing gum, marzipan and licorice all-sorts come on the first wave. The second wave brings out blueberry jam, sherbet, Iced Vovo’s, and perhaps some cherry compote.
Palate: The cereal appears initially on the front palate in the form of porridge (with a healthy drizzle of honey!) and then the fruit arrives: Plums, plum jam, and fruit conserve. There are hints of Kirsch and rosewater, together with the sweetness of jam doughnuts. The mouthfeel is delightfully clean, light, and fresh. The spirit is silky, without seeming viscous or oily.
Finish: Fruit flan and Danish pastry.
Comments: We’ll cut to the chase: This is beautifully concocted whisky! Whilst there are many references to fruit in the descriptors above, it is anything but one-dimensional – it’s complex and multi-layered. Even at 40% ABV, it still develops with time in the glass. The only problem with it is that it’s just too easy to drink! It’s super more-ish, and – unlike so many other ex-fortified and wine-finished whiskies – it doesn’t get weighed down or become drying and tannic.
And let’s not ignore one other important factor: This is affordable. At less than $100 for a 700ml bottle, Signature is one of the most keenly priced Australian single malts on the market. Let’s not deny that there’s some serious company money behind this, and that the operation benefits from inhouse cask ownership and economies of scale that other producers don’t enjoy. Nonetheless, it certainly throws the gauntlet down to an industry that was in need of a price correction.
Another aspect that is impressive, at least in this writer’s eyes, is that Signature – even by its very name – hints and implies that this will be an ongoing, continuous, reliable release in the Morris portfolio. It’s obviously an homogenised vatting of many casks, and there’s no reference to “Batch No.” or a particular aspect that would make this a limited or cannot-be-replicated release. Those who enjoy this drop can perhaps have confidence that this will be a consistent product in the years to come.
We’ve not yet tried the Muscat Barrel release, although some of my trusted colleagues – including the very respected Luke McCarthy, whose palate I trust – have done so and vouch for it being equally, if not even more impressive. On that basis, I expect there’ll be an open bottle of Muscat Barrel on Whisky & Wisdom’s shelf pretty soon!
Cheers,
AD
PS: You also might like our article, “The challenges of starting a new whisky brand“.
Are they doing the 4 step process @ Morris ? Or are they beer boilers ?
I was able to secure one of each at Nicks – priced just below the RRP. Personally – the Muscat Barrel is significantly better than the Signature – although the Signature is more complex. Liked them both very much.