Tasmania

by Whiskies #491-496: An Evening of Heartwood Whisky. Tasted at The Oak Barrel, Sydney.

“Making stuff up as we go along” was the subtitle of this Heartwood Whisky masterclass hosted at Sydney’s Oak Barrel, coinciding with the Sydney Whisky Fair. Tim Duckett, the boundary-pushing mad scientist from Tasmania who IS Mr Heartwood, was holding court at the front of the room and led us on an evening of tasting some back catalogue Heartwoods that aren’t easy to come by these days.

Six Heartwood whiskies (all 62% ABV or greater!) in one sitting? Less than two hours? This is going to be a sensory assault…

Whisky #491: Heartwood Mt Wellington Tasmanian Malt Whisky. Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 62.4%.

Colour: Apple juice.

Nose: Faint popcorn with a slight prickle.

Palate: Big and juicy – like a mouthful of blackcurrant pastilles.

Finish: Oily smoky notes, BBQ-charred chicken skewers.

Comments: It’s like dinner in reverse – sweet dessert followed by a savoury main.

 

Whisky #492: Heartwood The Beagle 5 Tasmanian Vatted Malt Whisky. Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 62.5%.

Colour: Deep amber.

Nose: Like a crème brûlée, all buttery caramelised toffee notes, with a gentle hint of smoke.

Palate: A huge dollop of golden syrup on hot buttered fresh white toast. Amazing.

Finish: Big and long, with a drying heat. Like putting your tongue close to a camp fire. Not that I’ve tried to do that…

Comments: A vatting of 7 casks – 5 malts from Lark Distillery, with another 2 from Tasmania Distillery – home of Sullivan’s Cove whisky.

 

Whisky #493: Heartwood @#$%^&. Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 62.5%.

Colour: Extremely similar hue to The Beagle 5 – a dark amber.

Nose: Smoke and sugar.

Palate: Butter and brown sugar. Tasting notes scant here as I had fallen one whisky behind the rest of the room…

Finish: Loooooooong (I could just repeat that for all the Heartwood whiskies), a nice counterbalance of savoury and sweet flavours. Think caramelised onions and a big, juicy char-grilled steak.

Comments: 7 years in a 2nd fill Port cask, then finished for 3 years in 2 x 1st fill Sherry casks.

Whisky #494: Heartwood Release the Beast Tasmanian Malt Whisky. Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 65.4%.

Colour: Purplish copper.

Nose: A slight prickle, then a wave of strawberries and cream, molasses, and a hint of smoke in the fade. Do noses even have a fade?

Palate: Black pepper, smoke and juicy cherries with loads of tingly warmth. Very satisfying.

Finish: Even the finish has a finish! Lots of smoke, liquorice and campfire heat. This whisky could warm up anything.

Comments: Whisky of the night for me – the nuances of the nose and finish were amazing, bookending the juicy and rich palate. Phenomenal. Matured for 3 years in two 100L port barrels and then married in a 200L Australian Sherry cask and matured for a further 4 years.  However at first taste it feels more like a heavily sherried influence.

 

Whisky #495: Heartwood Any Port in a Storm Tasmanian Malt Whisky (Summer). Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 69.1%.

Colour: Deep gold.

Nose: This one’s a creeper – it starts off soft then rolls up the nostrils, lemon muffins and friands.

Palate: Sucking on a spicy butter menthol.

Finish: Mineralic. Like licking a salty yet sweet toffee.

Comments: Majority of the malt was distilled at Tasmania Distillery, with a touch of Lark. I tended to brush over this one as my sparse notes tend to indicate; I was still basking in the warm glow and intense flavours of the Release the Beast.

 

Whisky #496: Heartwood The Good Convict Tasmanian Malt Whisky. Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 71.3%.

Colour: Bronzed amber.

Nose: Another softer, more balanced nose. Less mongrel. Sultanas, musty bookshelves (unusual from such a young whisky), boiling toffee on the stovetop.

Palate: Shoots straight down the middle of the tongue – flavour-wise and literally. Liquorice meringue, salty hessian and straw notes.

Finish: Salted caramel, tingling madeira sugar crystals bursting as you crush them between your tongue and the roof of your mouth.

Comments: Port cask, distilled at Tasmania Distillery. Distilled in November 2000 and bottled in June 2015, it’s had a touch under 5 years on oak.

 

Overall comments: What an honour to once again taste some amazing Heartwood whiskies and hear from the man who made them, Tim Duckett.  One of Tim’s observations from the night was that “variation is a form of entertainment.” He was referring to a few things, primarily the notion that many people these days (including whisky drinkers and collectors) are always searching for the next unusual thing (e.g. whisky), something different, something they haven’t tried before. Things that absolutely describe your typical Heartwood whisky.

They’re all so different from one another, yet ironically they all share some similar qualities – the deceptively smooth, oily mouthfeel; layer upon layer of flavour that seems to suck you into a vortex and make you forget about the world around you for a moment; and an incredibly loooooooong lingering finish. A Heartwood is a real thinker’s whisky, one that you don’t want to rush…so whilst trying six whiskies from Heartwood archives was an absolute privilege, over the course of only 2 hours it seemed a little rushed. Whisky like this deserves a less frenetic pace to truly savour what a special beast you’re enjoying.

by Heartwood Calm Before the Storm. Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 66.4%. Tasted at home, $285 (bottle).

Heartwood are one of the most innovative independent bottlers out there in the world of whisky. For the Heartwood Calm Before the Storm, they’ve sourced new make originated from Lark Distillery, matured it in a first fill Australian Oloroso sherry cask, and then had a load of fun placing it around Heartwood HQ in positions with the greatest temperature fluctuation. And what a creature they’ve created…

Colour: Glowing copper.

Nose: Fresh sultanas, golden syrup, blackcurrant jelly and cabernet paste. Geez that sounds a bit wanky, but damn it I could sniff this all day – it just keeps revealing more and more layers. Cigar box, burnt butter caramel and a slight nose prickle at the end to warn you that this dram packs a punch.

Palate: Intense honeycomb, raspberry sherbet and some dark chocolate. The sweet notes are balanced out by some amazing char-grilled steak flavours. A full mouthfeel, yet with a surprisingly gentle warmth given the 66.4%ABV.

Finish: Blackcurrant pastilles, sweet smokey beef jerky. A long, tantalising finish.

Comments: Stunning.

This is the drink you pour yourself when you get home after you’ve had a stressful, fucked off day at work and you need to have a balls-out whisky to get you out of your funk and make you feel alive. It’s like being kicked in the head by a stray boot of someone crowd-surfing at a gig – it’s a jolt to the system, it gives you a buzz, and yet you’ve got this crazy grin on your face from the energy of the moment. I’d had one of these days and was playing Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing in the Name” on the way home from work just to get some of the stress out. Having just received this Heartwood in the mail, I thought it fitting to crack it open. Lots of parallels…don’t stick to the script, be unconventional. Apt given the Heartwood approach to making whisky. In the words of Rage, fuck you I won’t do what you tell me! Instant calmness.

Hats off again to Heartwood, another amazing whisky.

by Heartwood Devil May Care. Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 67.1%. Tasted at home, $70 (100mL bottle split from the International Beer Shop in Perth).

Colour: Disarmingly golden.

Nose: Rose water, strawberry marshmallows and raspberry tarts. Not too much of a nose prickle, despite the high ABV.

Palate: Sea salt, flame grilled steak notes too. Fresh raspberries – it’s got some berry notes, but quite tart. Like sucking on a lemon Fruit Tingle and feeling it buzz on the tip of your tongue.

Finish: Sweet smoked paprika and a touch of turmeric. Looooong fade, some meaty saltiness (think salty biltong) with the tastebuds getting all excited by the tingle of flavours and a satisfying warmth.

Comments: A real savoury beast in the finish. Unlike other recent Heartwood releases, where independent Tim Duckett has gone a little mad scientist (in the true Heartwood way) with all manner of blending and syrupisation (I made that word up) of the whisky, the Heartwood Devil May Care is a 14 year old single malt. Cask strength of course. And yes, I finished all 100mL in one sitting. It’s bloody delicious.

Heartwood whiskies truly are in a class of their own – in style, quality and innovative creation. Long may you continue to produce such gems, Mr H.

by Heartwood Convict Resurrection 14 Year Old Cask Strength Tasmanian Single Malt. Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 72%. Tasted at home, $230 (bottle).

A deeply contemplative dram…

Colour: Luscious, syrupy maple.

Nose: Like a chord hammered out on a Hammond organ, minor fifths and sevenths going everywhere. There’s a cacophony of notes that seep into your consciousness at different times as the aromas float into your head.  A certain tension, but they are deliciously balanced and bring a smile to your face. Caramelised pineapple cooked on a BBQ, freshly baked carrot cake or even a hint of honey cake. Freshly hewn sawdust, musty bookshelves and lemon sherbet.

Palate: Rich, full and a mouth-tingling warmth. This is big. Sticky date pudding balanced out by a sharp heat and spiciness; like a lamb korma that bites initially, then the sweetness and spices take turns at dancing on your tongue. Mid and front palate get all the fun. A hint of tart raspberries.

Finish: Sweet and very long, as you might expect from a whisky at 72% ABV. Rich, intense sweet notes, like some treacle on warm damper with melted butter.

Comment: Distilled in March 2000, decanted December 2014, gracing an ex American oak port cask with its presence in the interim.

This is a whisky of contrasts. The kind of dram that you pour when you get home after a manic day at work. The kind of day when you just want to give a two-fingered salute to the world, drift away and switch off while listening to some jazz, with the 72% ABV and comforting flavours enveloping you and bringing you into its embrace. Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” is my choice of accompaniment tonight; a timeless classic and one of my favourites.

It’s also the kind of whisky that you pour if you want something complex and layered to analyse and enjoy.  The sheer delight you get when a whisky makes you go back and pour another couple of drams just so you can keep enjoying it and getting to know it at a deeper level.

Yet it’s also one of those whiskies you pour when you feel like being a bit contemplative. The kind when you’re feeling a bit down, when you’re reminiscing. The whisky when you’re thinking about where you want to head in life; a whisky when you’re thinking about the long lost love who lives on the other side of the country and you wonder every day what might have been had circumstances been different and whether you’ll ever see her in the future.

For me tonight, it’s been all of those things.