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By Will Edwards, Founder

We've won Australia's Best Whisky!

Ahead of its scheduled launch in late 2020, a work-in-progress cask sample of our Single Malt Whisky was judged Australia’s Best Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards in the US – a great sign of things to come when this product launches later this year.

Our vision for whisky has always been to speak of our experience as Australians. We wanted to craft a distinct, charming and flavoursome spirit which showcases the regional character of the malts it is made up of, complemented by great quality oak.

When we began making our whisky back in 2014, we started with a traditional brewer’s malt and a distiller’s malt (a very typical “Australian Single Malt Whisky” mash bill). But then we thought, why only use one or two malts when brewers are using all these other interesting specialty malts?

Australia provides the world with an enormous amount of malting grade barley. It’s grown right here in our backyard in conditions unlike any other and with varieties that aren’t used anywhere else on earth. We’re tapping into that wherever possible and highlighting the incredible quality and diversity of these malts.

What we landed on for our Single Malt Whisky is six malts, each with a unique profile and character. Our six-malt mash bill produces an extremely low-yielding spirit – a small sacrifice for a rich and expressive flavour, full of distinct regional character.

A lot of more traditional whiskies are quite cask forward, but our aim is to strike a better balance. We want to showcase the individual character of each malt and complement that with the influence of the cask, instead of relying on the cask to supply the backbone of flavour.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SINGLE MALT WHISKY, WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:

OUR SINGLE MALT WHISKY SPECIALTY MALTS:

AUSTRALIAN PALE MALT

Speaks of the Australian land from which it was grown, delivering herbal and slightly floral accents.

PEATED MALT

Provides a subtle touch of earthy smoke that complements richly flavoured roasted malts.

AUSTRALIAN AMBER MALT

An assertive biscuity character brings nuance and depth.

CARAMEL MALT

Delivers the aroma of caramel fudge and mild fruitiness.

AROMATIC ROASTED MALT

Offers a deep and complex array of flavours including fig, raisin and amaretto.

LOCAL NSW CHOCOLATE MALT

Made from a low-yielding single field in NSW and roasted in small batches, this malt provides rich and intense flavours of coffee and chocolate.

THE CASKS:

The oak we have used has come from the cooperage with a range of toast and char levels. Toasting casks is well understood in the wine world but less thoroughly explored in distilling. Using over five combinations of toast and char levels has allowed us to construct layers of complexity and flavour in our whisky yielding a truly distinct spirit.

Our Single Malt Whisky is matured predominantly in 100, 200 and 300-litre Australian Apera (sherry) casks, each coopered with a balance of char and toast. The natural sweetness of these incredible casks complements the savoury charisma of our spirit, revealing fresh herbs, shortbread biscuits, raisins, toffee and dark chocolate on the nose.

AS FOR THE LAUNCH DATE:

We’ve spent an enormous amount of time in research and development, looking at how we can create a rich and engaging, complex yet affordable Single Malt Whisky. And we believe we’ve made something really special.

As the saying goes, nothing worthwhile in life is ever easy, but more importantly, we subscribe to the belief that the whisky is ready when it is ready. We do not aim for a particular age and decant it precisely on that day or to a strict production schedule, rather we will monitor the whisky as it approaches maturation and decant it from cask when we feel it is at its absolute best - balancing the flavour and influence of the malt, spirit and cask. In saying that, we are hoping to launch Archie Rose Single Malt Whisky late 2020.

Be sure to sign up to Archie’s Journal and watch your inbox for more information on how to get your hands on a bottle of 1st Batch Single Malt Whisky in coming months.