Kinglake Distillery Nicks Wine Merchants Single Cask Selection Cask Strength Single Malt Australian Whisky (500ml)

When three staff from Nicks Wine Merchants took a road trip to Kinglake, they returned with a bag of whisky samples and loads of enthusiasm. It was catching, especially after tasting our way through a selection of the distillery's single casks. Most were from Bourbon wood and were pretty satisfying as far as young malts go, but an x-Port cask stood out. It was ahead when we tasted it in October 2022. Now it's a clear winner. Even distiller and proprietor Sam Lowe seems to have impressed himself. At bottling in mid February he had another go at it: "It tastes really good, even better for a few extra Summer months in the barrel."

Somehow Kinglake manages to pack an incredible amount of flavour into single malts that are young by world standards. That wouldn't be so remarkable if they weren't just as remarkably balanced. In this case, the 100 litre cask has delivered an effusive whisky enriched by stewed red fruit flavours that dovetail into oily malt and sweet smoke. There's black pepper spice and oaky warmth backing it up, with a finish that melts into more red fruits, dark chocolate and a creamy aftertaste showing terrific staying power. The experience feels almost effortless, and frankly, we weren't expecting the whisky to turn out this good. Maybe there's something in the local water (the distillery has its own source). Whatever the secret is, bottlings like this firmly position Kinglake amongst the half dozen or so top whisky producers in Australia. That belies a modest set up which prides itself on carbon neutrality. The shed is where all the magic happens, pictured on the front label under a pristine night sky, pierced through by a shooting star - an appropriate image for a pick we feel lucky to have stumbled across. More road trips are planned. Right now just eighty bottles of this Victorian beauty are available exclusively via Nicks Wine Merchants. 61% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered.

Founded in 2018, Kinglake distillery was specially designed to take advantage of its bush setting. Sam Lowe & Chantal Daniels make whisky from scratch in their off-grid project using both local and imported barley and water from a mountain stream on the property. They don't primarily focus on single cask releases, so this is not a regular issue - instead the couple are aiming to maintain a consistent line of the best malt they can make by vatting different barrels (typically small-format ex-bourbon barrels re-coopered in Australia).