The year is 1409, and in the late summer of Ireland’s wild northern provinces, far beyond The Pale that surrounds the English-controlled lands around Dublin, a farmer feels the first cold breeze of the oncoming autumn. His barley harvest done, he stokes a fire of dried peat blocks - the turf-like decomposed plant matter cut from local bogs - to a smoky smoulder. The heat it provided was in the 15th century the only way to dry barley during malting, long before coal, oil and gas were used for fuel.

To this day, the process of drying malted barley over peat fires to prepare it for whisky-making remains the primary way to make smokey-tasting spirit, and the dank, powerful aroma of burning peat will always be indelibly tied to the whiskies of Scotland and Ireland. The smell of peat smoke is so tied up with the experience of smoky whisky that “peaty” and “peated” are synonymous with “smoky” and “smoked” when it comes to the world’s favourite aged spirit.

Here in Australia, an equally evocative smell rides the breeze on rural properties and campsites the nation over, wafts through suburban neighbourhoods in winter and clouds the air of forested areas during back-burns; the oily tang of eucalyptus smoke - as much a part of the universal Australian sensory experience as sand between toes and hot sun on skin. But bringing the aromas of the Australian bush to bear on our local whiskies has so far remained elusive.

Along with the traditional Scottish and Irish peated whiskies, over 99% of the smoky whiskies produced in places as far flung as Japan, India and here in Australia, are made with peated malt imported from Scotland rather than local grains. Other kinds of smoked grains are simply not readily available. As the vast majority of whisky producers rely on existing supply for access to grain, Scotland is the one place that has smoked barley to share.

But Archie Rose is committed to making uniquely Australian whisky, using local grains and other Australian ingredients, wherever possible, and creating spirits that evoke the aromas, flavours and memories of this incredible land. This is why, as part of the Trials and Exceptions Series, Archie Rose has now produced several smoky whiskies with grains smoked over Australian native timbers like Stringybark and Red Gum.

Archie Rose’s uniquely collaborative relationship with craft maltster and grain supplier Voyager Craft Malt is what allows the flexibility to be creative and make untested ideas like native timber-smoked grains a reality. The production team works closely with Voyager to develop new and innovate grain styles never before tasted in a whisky.

Voyager’s owner Stu Whytcross explains how the project came about: “We had been approached by a lot of distilleries around Australia to produce peated malts, but because we couldn’t find peat locally, it didn’t really excite us that much, especially with our focus on provenance, terroir and locally grown grain. So when Archie Rose came to us about smoking with native timbers it was really refreshing to hear, and it’s been a pretty exciting journey ever since.”

So far, Archie Rose has released two single malt whiskies made with local grain smoked over native timer: Red Gum Smoked Single Malt and Stringybark Smoked Single Malt, both with outstanding results. Head Distiller Dave Withers found inspiration to create these new whisky styles from a combination of traditional whiskies he loves plus the desire to help define Australian whisky as unique in a global context. “We wanted to be true to who we are as Australians and offer up a spirit which is characterful and idiosyncratic, just like us,” he explains.

“Smoky whiskies are just such an iconic style of spirit,” Withers says. “However, it just never made any real sense to use Scottish peated malt at Archie Rose. Here we are, dragging malt halfway around the world and when it arrives it’s worse off for the journey. And at the end of the day, we aren’t Scots, so what we really wanted was a malt that spoke to us as Australians. The whiskies we came up with reflect the amazing resources we have at our fingertips.”

And while the difference between grains smoked with redgum and stringybark might be hard to pick at first smell, subtle differences between these iconic Australian woods can be found in the various Archie Rose expressions. “We find that the red gum smoke has a deeper sort of woodiness and a more robust flavour,” says Withers. “Our initial trials with red gum offered more of a balanced smoke with underlying floral elements, but was not as intense as the stringybark, which is closer to what you might expect from a traditional Scottish smoky whisky.”

The most recent foray into the native smoke project is the newly released stringybark Smoked Heritage Rye Malt Whisky, the world’s first ever rye whisky smoked with Australian native timber.

Rich with aromas of eucalyptus logs on the campfire, marzipan, smoked meats and the buttery sweetness of shortbread, the Smoked Heritage Rye Malt also has a broad, silky texture with notes of almond brittle and cardamom syrup along with the ever present smoke, leading to a complex finish of mandarin, ginseng and dark caramel. Matured in a combination of French and American oak casks, this whisky is entirely original, combining elements of traditional smokey whisky and traditional rye with Australian native flavours for the first time with intriguing results.

“What I find fascinating about this whisky is that the smoke seems to support the fruitiness of the rye grain and the oak doesn’t take over either, so we’re left with something really balanced yet original and unique,” Withers says.

Sustainability is also a major focus both for Archie Rose and our grain supply partners at Voyager Craft Malt. Not only does using locally-smoked grains remove the huge amount of fossil fuel it takes to import raw materials from Scotland, we’re also ensuring that we protect our precious native trees. All of the native timber used to smoke grains for Archie Rose whiskies are sourced either from reclaimed wood on Voyager’s property or from certified forests in the Victorian Highlands and the NSW Riverina area close to the malting facility. And while certain compounds found in specific species of eucalyptus can be toxic to humans, every batch of Voyager smoked malt is rigorously lab-tested to ensure that Archie Rose whiskies are 100% safe for both whisky lovers and the environment.

Our modern whisky industry is in a fascinating phase of trying to define what Australian whisky means beyond imitations of imported styles. As the nation’s most innovative whisky distillery, Archie Rose continues to experiment and push boundaries to create uniquely Australian Whiskies like Redgum and Stringybark smoked single malt and rye that reflect the natural environment of this unique and beautiful land.

Smoked Heritage Rye Malt goes on sale Wednesday, February 15th at 10am on the Archie Rose Website here and at select bars and bottle shops around Australia.