Amber Lane joins the growing list of New South Wales malt whisky distilleries to have emerged in the last five years. Conceived in 2017 in the Yarramalong Valley just inland from Wyong on the Central Coast (about a 90 minute drive from Sydney), Amber Lane has quickly – very quickly – found fans and acclaim with the quality of its whisky. This was recently in evidence just last month when all four of Amber Lane’s entries submitted to the Tasting Australia Spirit Awards walked away with Silver medals. No mean feat for a distillery’s first releases.
None of this is an accident…the venture, scope, production, and operation has been carefully planned and was the result of research, assessment, and feedback loops. Like most other new Australian distilleries, a degree of trial, error, and experimentation was necessary at the start, but Amber Lane narrowed its focus swiftly and found its sweet spot quickly – without mucking around with excessive variants or taking cheap shortcuts.
In order to achieve this, two things had to happen. The first item was to get their new make spirit right. That sounds like an “obvious” step, but consider the numerous parameters and variables that go into this. Whilst some parameters are fixed (such as the size and shape of the still), others are at the whim of the creative hand: There’s the fermentation and character of the wash (noting that Amber Lane doesn’t do its own brewing but sources its wash from a nearby brewery in Erina); there’s how slow/fast to run the still, and there’s the crucial decision on when to cut the spirit – particularly at the feints end of the run. The second item was to then select the casks in which to fill the spirit for maturation. It is this second step where Amber Lane made some bold decisions and, in the opinion of this writer, made some crucially correct calls that sets them apart from the competition.
For context, many new distilleries opt for smaller casks and typically source their barrels from the Australian wine industry. The reasons for this are perfectly valid and understandable: Such casks are readily available; they’re cheaper; and – if chosen and managed correctly (many are not!) – smaller casks can accelerate the maturation process, allowing producers to bring their whisky to market sooner. The problem, as Whisky & Wisdom has explored and discussed in numerous articles, is that many distilleries use ex-wine casks that have only been toasted instead of charred; they use ex-wine and ex-fortified casks that leach excessive tannins into the spirit (resulting in dry, tannic whisky); and the short-term maturation in smaller casks prevents the all-important subtractive process of maturation from playing out in full. For a more detailed rundown on this, check out one such article here and scroll down to the sub-heading Time).
In contrast to this, Amber Lane played the long game and went straight to full-size cask maturation in more expensive 200L ex-bourbon barrels sourced from the US, and sherry casks sourced from Spain (as well as some Australian ex-Apera casks). The bourbon casks have been sourced from Heaven Hill (casks from Four Roses were found to be too variable, owing to the different variations of spirit made there), and the sherry casks are both ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximinez. Not surprisingly, the results speak for themselves: Even still at the relatively young age of 2-3 years, Amber Lane’s whisky (yes, it’s legally whisky at two years old in Australia) is clean, balanced, rich, and flavoursome, without being weighed down by tannin, wine, or cask-taint.
The distillery is the child of founders Rod Berry and Phil Townsend, who were inspired by what they saw during a visit to the highly regarded Black Gate distillery. Berry was a long-time whisky enthusiast (“nerd”, in his words) and approached the project from an academic angle, whilst Townsend is the hands-on side of the duo and oversees the daily operations at the distillery.
The distillery operates a single still, which was manufactured by Burns Welding & Fabrication – a company that has seemingly become the go-to supplier for still manufacture in Australia. The still – a modest 3,600L in capacity – was modelled on one of the stills at the Springbank distillery in Campbeltown, Scotland, and is used for both the wash and spirit runs. Warehousing is currently on site, although there are plans to re-locate as available space is disappearing!
Whisky & Wisdom was fortunate earlier this year to participate in a special tasting panel of Amber Lane spirit, tasting no less than eight varied “works-in-progress” samples that ranged in age from 21 months to just shy of four years, as well as the new make spirit, and also the initial launch releases (including Destiny). The new make spirit was particularly sweet and malty with a strong cereal base, as opposed to other new makes that lean more towards the floral/perfumed end of the spectrum. Samples tasted and assessed included:
- An ex-bourbon single cask, 26 months old at approx. 61% ABV
- An ex-bourbon single cask, 43 months old.
- Spirit that had spent three years in a bourbon cask before being transferred to a Noble One botrytis Semillon cask for seven months.
- An ex-Pedro Ximinez cask, 21 months old
- A 300L ex-Apera cask at three years old
- Spirit that had spent 2 years and three months in an ex-Apera cask, before being transferred to a PX cask for nine months
- Spirit that had originally spent 12 months in virgin American oak before being transferred to an ex-bourbon cask for two years. There was near unanimous agreement amongst the panel that this was the best expression in the line up. One of the distillery’s current commercial releases, Silk Road, has undergone a similar maturation profile.
Like any new distillery, the risk and challenge is the need to leave stock lying down to reach a suitable level of maturation, while also needing to market and sell product to bring in much-needed cash flow. There is often a big difference between a whisky being “ready”, as opposed to being “optimal”. Several distilleries have done themselves a disservice by chasing cash early, only to announce their arrival on the scene with sub-standard whisky that has tarnished their early reputation. It is a delicate balancing act for sure, but the early releases for Amber Lane – young as they are – show a depth, fullness, and balance that is, without question, ready for drinking….yet teasingly hint that Amber Lane will be even better as the spirit reaches older ages.
In yet another departure from the familiar footsteps paced out by some other preceding Australian distilleries starting up, Amber Lane has released whiskies that are a vatting (blend) of numerous casks. Yes, there have been two single cask releases to date, but it’s the approach to blending that is both refreshing and rewarding. The distillery’s first release, Destiny, is a vatting of ex-PX sherry, ex-Apera, and ex-Bourbon casks, with a ratio of 2:3 sherry to bourbon in the make-up. Bottled at 50.6% and with an RRP of $179 for a 700ml bottle, Amber Lane joins the new-wave of distilleries bringing Australian whisky to market at affordable pricing. (With a few notable exceptions, the days of paying in excess of $300 for 500ml bottles seem to be behind us). Liquid Amber – Sherry Cask Expression, at $169, is another vatted release featuring a higher proportion of ex-apera and ex-PX casks, with a small bourbon cask component for balance. They are, quite simply, very good Australian whiskies. One suspects it won’t be too long until we’ll be describing them as great Australian whiskies.
Cheers,
AD
Did you enjoy this article or get something out of it? You might like to check this page here, which lists Whisky & Wisdom’s best and most popular, widely read, liked and shared articles.
PS: You also might like our article, “The challenges of starting a new whisky brand“.
PPS: Interested in our other Australian distillery profile feature pieces? Read our insights into….
Tin Shed Distillers (Iniquity)
