“Have no fear of perfection - you’ll never reach it” - Salvador Dali

At Archie Rose, we’ve never been much for following the recipe. The whole point of what we do is, and always has been, to create something new. Our Trials & Exceptions series is where we do our experimenting. It’s the confluence of art and science - part laboratory, part studio - where our distillers and blenders can let their imaginations loose, driven by our thirst for discovery.

As Archie Rose Founder Will Edwards puts it, our Trials & Exceptions series is a way for us to share with you the research and development we do every single day. “‘In what is still a typically traditional industry, we’re having lots of fun seeking out new ingredients and raw materials and developing production techniques to push the boundaries and show what’s possible in distillation,” he says.

Trials & Exceptions uncovers our most exciting single casks and small batch trials, offering first-hand insights into the raw ingredients, processes and people involved in the production of our spirits. Over the course of the last few years, we’ve released 16 different products under the Trials & Exceptions banner. These have included world firsts, like a rye whisky smoked with Australian native timber, and experiments like our Sandigo Heritage Rye Malt Whisky, our first Trials & Exceptions release, which has informed how we make all of our rye whiskies now and into the future.

Trials & Exceptions is also the place where happy accidents can find a home, because as a wise person once said, mistakes are just proof that you’re trying new things. We’re pretty sure no one came up with gorgonzola deliberately (who would’ve thought mouldy cheese would be delicious?), but we’re glad they did, and so we’re happy to screw up every once in a while in the pursuit of the unexpectedly delicious.

An example of just such a happy accident is our latest release - Whisky Gone A Rye #2. This is the second time (whoops), that a parcel of lovely Australian fortified wine casks that were intended for our single malt whisky were accidentally filled with rye malt spirit instead, making it one of the only rye whiskies ever made aged in Apera casks. Sounds like something we meant to do, right?

Are we mad at the mistake? Not really, because the first batch of Whisky Gone A Rye (Trials & Exceptions #05) was delicious, so we’re kinda glad to have this weird little cross-breed (can we call it an “Apera-doodle”? A “rye-a-poo”?) back in stock. The first batch also sold out in no time, so we’re happy to be able to offer it again to everyone who loved it, or wanted a bottle and missed out the first time around.

Here’s a brief look at some of the other weird and wonderful Trials & Exceptions we’ve released since its launch in 2020:

01: Sandigo Heritage Rye Malt Whisky Released on 30 March 2020. Sold out.

Featuring a malted landrace rye sourced from fourth-generation NSW farmers, this grain has grown continuously near Sandigo NSW for over 60 years, adapting to weather including droughts, floods and storms to evolve into its own distinct strain.

02: Hunter Valley Shiraz Spirit Released on 25 May 2020. Sold out.

Hunter Valley Shiraz Spirit is an eau de vie distilled from salvaged smoke tainted grapes as the first product in a forthcoming brandy series to support Hunter Valley grape growers who lost their crops to the devastating 2019 / 2020 bushfires. It won the World's Most Innovative Product in the Spirits Business Awards of 2020.

03: High Test Molasses Rum Released on 7 July 2020. Sold out.

This rum features the finesse of high-test molasses, which is expressed before the first removal of sugar during the extraction process and known for its elegant style. To add richness to the spirit, a small amount of bold blackstrap molasses was added to the fermentation, with both types of molasses produced from sustainably grown and milled sugarcane sourced from NSW farms.

04: “A Whisky in Every Port” Port Cask Single Malt Released on 29 June 2021. Sold out.

This Single Malt Whisky began its journey in 50-year-old LBV port casks, before being married in 225-litre Australian tawny casks. Featuring six malts that complement the richness imparted by the union of old and new world port casks, A Whisky In Every Port offers notes of figs, espresso, tobacco and prunes.

05: “Whisky Gone a Rye” #1 Released on 1 December 2021. Sold out.

The apera casks used to age this spirit were destined for maturing Single Malt Whisky but were instead filled with Rye Malt Whisky - a happy accident that happened not once but three times. This first whisky sees Rye Malt Whisky imbued with the flavours of the apera casks to reveal enticing notes of sultanas, dates, cacao and crème brulee.

06: High Test Molasses Rum Cask Single Malt Released on 23 March 2022. Sold out.

Aptly named High-Test Molasses Rum Cask Single Malt Whisky, it offers notes of sticky date pudding alongside rum and raisin ice cream, striking a beautiful balance between malt and molasses.

07: Red Gum Smoked Single Malt Released on 15 February 2022. Sold out.

Red Gum Smoked Single Malt Whisky uses native NSW red gum to smoke the NSW grown and malted barley from our friends at Voyager Craft Malt. It pays tribute to one of Australia’s most majestic eucalypt trees and offers heady flavours redolent of campfire smoke, smoked meat, ripe nectarine, fresh jasmine and lavender with a subtle salty edge.

08: Good(e) Whisk(e)y Released on 15 June 2022. Available to purchase.

When Cellar Hand (now Distiller) Mr Goode accidentally vatted our Single Malt and Rye Malt Whisky together he was crestfallen. The mixture of the two whiskies meant that spirit could be neither Single Malt nor Rye Malt Whisky anymore. It was found that the two whiskies offered the expressive oak of the rye with the charismatic flavours of the roasted malts. It was pronounced that the hybrid whisky was “good” and that the mistake of the still startled Mr Goode should be memorialised with a release.

09: Maidenii Nocturne Cask Rye Released on 30 August 2022. Sold out.

We found whisky and vermouth to be a fantastic combination and sought to pair the two together in a unique and highly limited release. Having consumed more than a little bit of Maidenii Vermouth in our time, the team saw the iconic Australian brand as a natural partner for the product.

10: Fancy Molasses Rum Released on 12 September 2022. Sold out.

Fancy Molasses Rum 2019 is made from sustainably sourced NSW high-test molasses and is one of three early explorations of the impact of raw material on rum character.

11: Stringybark Smoked Single Malt Released on 6 October 2022. Sold out.

Following the release of the Red Gum Smoked Single Malt Whisky in early 2022, as the first exploratory trial, the Stringybark Smoked Single Malt Whisky marks the second phase and a benchmark for subsequent Archie Rose smoked whiskies.

12: Refiner’s Molasses Rum Released on 22 October 2022. Available to purchase.

Refiner’s Molasses Rum offers true delicacy and is made from sustainably sourced NSW raw liquor, a refiner’s molasses known for its delicate flavour and clean profile. Take a sip and you’ll find it builds on the palate - with notes of caramel, sultanas and marmalade - before tapering into dark chocolate and black tea flavours.

13: Mill Molasses Rum Released on 25 October 2022. Available to purchase.

Presenting at 67.5% ABV, this rum is for the serious rum drinker, full of surprising twists of flavour and uncommon but bold strokes of personality. It pays tribute to sustainably sourced B-grade molasses, grown in NSW, with a palate that offers notes of chocolate icing, bread and butter pudding and roasted walnuts.

14: Smoked Heritage Rye Malt Released on 15 February 2023. Available to purchase.

Following the release of the Red Gum Smoked Single Malt Whisky and the Stringybark Smoked Single Malt Whisky in 2022, Smoked Heritage Rye Malt Whisky marks a new phase for Archie Rose and its whiskies, incorporating Australian native stringybark wood smoke into our award-winning Rye Malt Whisky for the first time.

15: Return to Sandigo Rye Malt Released on 31 May 2023. Available to purchase.

A more refined and elegant whisky, we’ve married heritage rye with a softer pale malt whisky after gentle maturation in large casks. This has allowed the whisky to mellow while supporting the rye character with the sweet spice of heavily charred American oak.

16: Whisky Gone A Rye #2 Released on 5 July 2023. Available to purchase.

Whisky Gone A Rye #2 is a special edition of our Rye Malt Whisky matured in Australian apera casks and the sixteenth release in our Trials & Exceptions series. The Australian apera casks used to age this spirit were destined for maturing our Single Malt Whisky, but by happy accident, the 100 and 200-litre casks were instead filled with Rye Malt Whisky not once but three times.