Trials & Exceptions #21, Marionette Orange Curaçao Single Malt Whisky

We’ve known the folks down at Marionette Liqueur for years — hospitality is a small world, and our Melbourne team now happily share a workspace with some of them. When our Master Distiller, Dave Withers, brought up the idea of using Marionette’s barrels from their Orange Curaçao to finish a limited edition Archie Rose whisky, it instantly sparked the team’s curiosity. The result is as special as we’d hoped, and it will be available as the next release in our Trials & Exceptions series later this month.

Ahead of the Marionette Orange Curaçao Single Malt Whisky release in April, we asked Marionette co-founder Hugh Leech some quick questions to get behind the scenes of their remarkable liqueurs.

How did you get into the wonderful world of liqueurs?

I spent years working at Gin Palace alongside Nick and Shaun (the partner Founders of Marionette), now my business partners, while Lauren, our third partner, worked at a sister venue within the same group. Together, we witnessed the rise of Australian spirits firsthand. At the bar, we crafted liqueurs and infusions using the best seasonal produce, and that passion for quality and creativity ultimately led us to create Marionette.

Talk to us about how you work with Australian farmers and producers.

One of the cornerstones of Marionette is our commitment to using only Australian produce, working directly with farmers to source the best ingredients. This approach gives us a deep understanding of seasonality, ensuring we use fruit at its peak while supporting farmers by repurposing lower-grade produce that might otherwise go to waste. For our Orange Curaçao, we source Navel, Seville, and blood oranges from a third-generation citrus farmer near Mildura, carefully using both the peel and flesh to make our liqueur.

What can you tell us about the barrels used to age your Orange Curaçao?

Our Orange Curaçao barrels are French oak, originally from Meursault in Burgundy, with a medium toast, so they give us a lovely balanced level of flavour extraction. We then fill them with our Orange Curaçao, which uses five different components to provide a really complex orange profile, and rest the Orange Curaçao in there for a few weeks to a month per batch. The barrels used have seen a few years of use, so the Curaçao has really infused into the wood.

What can we expect next from Marionette? What are you experimenting with at the moment?

We’ve just released our Elderflower Liqueur, and that’s been very exciting to develop. Now that it’s out, we’ve been experimenting with it in some drinks. We’ve been trialling a few interesting botanical distillations and maceration to see how they go, too. Fresh fennel and rose geranium have both been highlights.

How would you personally enjoy the new Archie Rose Marionette Orange Curaçao Single Malt Whisky?

My mind jumps straight to a Godfather, with half Whisky, half Amaretto over ice. Or, for a daytime drink, my go-to would be a whisky highball with a splash of our Orange Curaçao added to really lean into those citrus flavours:

• 10mL Marionette Orange Curaçao
• 30mL Archie Rose Marionette Orange Curaçao Single Malt Whisky
• Soda

Build over ice with a wedge of orange