Heartwood Wizard's Sceptre Cask Strength Single Malt Australian Whisky (500ml)

Heartwood's follow up to the 'Witch’s Cauldron' consists of older Lark Whisky from a 300 litre Fino sherry cask, 80 litres of 4 year old Oloroso matured Old Kempton (distilled at Redlands) as well as a smaller portion of two year old Belgrove heavily peated whisky. The label refers to Tim Duckett's practise of 'swirling the whisky rather roughly with a sceptre'. Brilliant topaz. A nose that takes at least five minutes to get your head around: Fumes of prickly alcohol give way to dense aromas of Demerara rum, PX sherry, fruit cake and brandy sauce. Cedary oak balances the sugars. Heartwood's typically high ABV is checked in an intense, creamy attack accenting toasted fruit slice flavours with brief bittersweetness before the sugars surge again. By the finish, the malt feels sherry-saturated. The aftertaste is vaguely toasty, ashy and prolonged. A ’worked’ style that pushes the limits, but for lovers of Heartwood, this delivers in spades. 60.7% Alc./Vol. 332 bottles.

Other reviews... Like the Witch's Cauldron, it doesn't have to tell you this is all sherry cask: the wine comes at you from every angle and enters every pore. But so clean and beautifully appointed, it is impossible to escape its spell. 92.5 points - Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2022