Quite a few Australian whiskies


September 1, 2026

Quite a few Australian whiskies

We’ve been seeing some very fine things coming out of Australia for years now. For us, it all started with ‘The Great Outback’, a whisky that really wasn’t very good, then came Lark, Sullivans Cove, Hellyers Road and a few others, and our opinion began to change… Right, let’s start with one of the pioneers…

Lark ‘Cask Strength’ (58%, OB, Australia, Small Cask Aged, sherry, cask #486, 2013)

A strong contender at the Malt Maniacs Awards 2013, for which we never actually wrote any tasting notes. It was about time! Oh and indeed, here we are in Tasmania… Colour: golden amber. Nose: it’s powerful, marked by resinous wood and really quite extractive overall, while the sherry is more about a mixture of walnuts and raisins for now. With water: it shifts towards chocolate and tea with a cloud of milk, so rather British in style. So to speak. Mouth (neat): very rich, very much marked by the wood and sherry, in a style that’s fairly close to a young high-quality bourbon, but with some subtle je ne sais quoi, a kind of balance. With water: the raisins have taken over, PX, currants… Finish: long, still rich and raisiny, with more and more pepper coming through afterwards, as often happens when the wood is prominent. Comments: almost fifteen years later, this remains very lovely. It had won a high Bronze medal.
SGP:651 - 85 points.

Kinglake 2021/2025 ‘Goodbye Popeye’ (OB, Australia, 800 bottles)

Here we are in the province of Victoria with an astonishing distillery from which we’ve already tasted some very fine bottles in the past. This baby was secondarily matured in American rye, then in Australian tawny. Quite some cooking, let’s see how that worked out… Mind you, this baby is nevertheless ‘carbon neutral’. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: it kicks off with a rather surprising combination of black truffle and blackcurrants that works remarkably well, then comes liquorice, while the truffle keeps growing and growing, but careful, this has absolutely nothing to do with sulphury whiffs, strictly nothing. With water: beef broth, Thai sauce, hoisin, always with great elegance. Mouth (neat): very lovely, smoky and marked by juniper, then chocolate and, once again, truffle (tuber melanosporum). With water: pure truffle and foie gras soup, Bocuse-style. I swear. Finish: long, even meatier, leeks, truffles, chives, dark chocolate… This is superb. Comments: lovely mastery of maturation and casks! We can also find a kind of kinship with Lark, I hope we’re not offending anyone by saying that…
SGP:562 - 88 points.

Kinglake 2021/2024 (46%, OB for Whisky Abbey Festival, Australia, ex-rye, 206 bottles, 2024)

The Whisky Abbey Festival takes place in Melbourne, I hope we’ll get the chance to go there one day. Colour: white wine. Nose: lovely stuff! Green apple, whitecurrants, sesame, sourdough, aniseed bread… Mouth: … and wee lemons, rye bread, juniper, with a slight shochu side, grey pepper, cinnamon… Finish: fairly long, with touches of lemon that ‘lift’ the finish and freshen up the aftertaste. Comments: this really is very successful, with a surprising Scandinavian side. In Australia!
SGP:462 - 87 points.

Lawrenny Estate ‘Heritage’ (46.2%, OB, Australia, 2024)

No age statement, so very young. Here we are back in Tasmania. This single malt was matured in an apera cask, so Australian ‘sherry’, then ‘real’ PX and oloroso sherry, in a solera-style system. Colour: deep gold. Nose: once again, plenty of loveliness, this time around tapioca and walnuts, without any particularly assertive sherry, let alone the slightly exuberant side of some PX. A square and coherent style. Chocolate. Mouth: the sherries are much more pronounced on the palate, with raisins, chocolate and pepper, then walnut wine, naturally. Finish: fairly long, on country bread with figs and raisins. Black pepper marks the aftertaste. Comments: the casks do leave their mark on the whole thing, but I like the result rather a lot.
SGP:451 - 84 points.

Lawrenny Estate ‘Tarkine’ (50%, OB, Australia, Port & sherry, 2025)

The label mentions the influence of ‘Huon’ pine but doesn’t say whether they actually used any for maturation. We shall see, I’m not sure whether the definition of Australian malt allows that kind of gymnastics… Colour: deep gold. Nose: I like this a lot right from the start, there’s rusk, toasted bread, some very lovely slightly metallic notes, fig leaf, grey pepper… With water: orange wine. I mean wine made with oranges. Mouth (neat): very lovely. Oranges, peppers, cinnamon, turmeric, sultanas in moderation, grapefruit… With water: wee figs and even more orange. Finish: long, with some adorable little green spices. Green pepper, grated zest… Comments: we didn’t really detect the Huon pine, but then we wouldn’t know how to recognise it anyway. Apart from that, we love this little Tarkine.
SGP:561 - 87 points.

Timboon Railway Shed 2011/2015 (41.5%, OB, Australia, Port expression)

Here we are back in the state of Victoria. An expression that’s still in production these days. This is the first time we’ve tasted anything from this distillery! Colour: Australian chardonnay (but naturally...) Nose: the Port doesn’t show at all, or perhaps it was a very young white Port? On the other hand, there are some charming notes of aniseed and fresh barley, as well as touches of pineapple. Nothing to complain about, this is very pretty. Mouth: amusing, with aniseed and liquorice allsorts, semolina, light yoghurt, grey pepper, a touch of lavender and olive… All this is a little unlikely, but it remains very pleasant and, above all, original. Finish: not very long and slightly cardboardy, but the grey pepper and aniseed hold the line nicely. Comments: I find this very likeable, and above all much less technical than the previous ones.
SGP:441 - 80 points.

Sullivans Cove 16 yo 2008/2025 (47.5%, OB, Australia, Mizunara’s 10th Anniversary, Hong Kong, American oak, cask #TDO331, 215 bottles)

Back in Tasmania. Colour: white wine. Nose: lots of fresh, lemony oak, a slight cucumber side, then aniseed bread and yellow and green plums. A little beeswax and certainly something rather ‘northern east coast of Scotland’. Mouth: more modern, with some very gorgeous fresh and sharp spices, lime and, above all, green pepper that comes to complete a bed of candied citrus fruits. Candied angelica. Finish: long and still just as fresh. The candied citrus and green pepper dominate proceedings. Comments: a very very nice bottle. Sullivans Cove has been at the top of its game for a few years now.
SGP:561 - 88 points.

Hellyers Road 21 yo 2003/2025 ‘Waking Dreams’ (62.5%, La Maison du Whisky, Ex Libris, 1st fill American oak, cask #3352.08, 147 bottles)

Hellyers Road 21 yo 2003/2025 ‘Waking Dreams’ (62.5%, La Maison du Whisky, Ex Libris, Australia, 1st fill American oak, cask #3352.08, 147 bottles)

We’re still in Tasmania, of course… And a little bit in Paris too. Colour: gold. Nose: the precision of mango, wee banana, custard, thyme and melon. It’s not very complicated, but it’s superb. With water: leaves, stems, herbs and, above all, sorrel. Mouth (neat): very powerful, perhaps a little too much so, with coconut and peppery tannins becoming a little dominant. Water seems compulsory to me. With water: everything relaxes and becomes fruitier, a real joy. The mango and lime are back, although the coconut hasn’t completely disappeared. Finish: long, peppery, herbal, even with quite a lot of water. Green banana then puts everything back in order. Comments: don’t even think of tasting this rather combative little wonder without water.
SGP:371 - 87 points.

Hellyers Road 8 yo 2016/2025 ‘Seize the Fire’ (63.7%, La Maison du Whisky, Ex Libris, 1st fill American oak, cask #16322.01, 206 bottles)

Hellyers Road 8 yo 2016/2025 ‘Seize the Fire’ (63.7%, La Maison du Whisky, Ex Libris, Australia, 1st fill American oak, cask #16322.01, 206 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: this is more medicinal, there must be peat in there, quite a lot of peat in fact. Camphor and Mercurochrome, over lemon and seaweed. As for the rest, we won’t insist, given the strength… With water: hugely elegant, very fresh, with an utterly clear profile, plus a little fresh plaster and virgin wool. Brand-new jumper. Mouth (neat): roots, lemons, ginseng, turmeric, peppermint, light tar and rubber. With water: lemons with tar, mint and aniseed. High definition. Finish: long, almost refreshing, provided you don’t taste this baby at its lethal original strength. Comments: I hate giving this sublime 8-year-old a higher score than the very fine 21-year-old, I’m almost ashamed of myself. Peat may well work like nicotine or ethanol, it can get you addicted.
SGP:466 - 89 points.

Hellyers Road 9 yo ‘Richly Peated’ (48.3%, OB, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 2026)

Hellyers Road 9 yo ‘Richly Peated’ (48.3%, OB, Australia, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 2026)

This baby is brand new, and what’s more, bottled at a strength that lets you put away your competition-grade pipette and bottle of mineral water without the slightest remorse. Colour: gold. Nose: this won’t take long, someone Downunda had the bright idea of smoking bananas and mangoes, then adding a few drops of mint essence and olive oil. A success, I’m afraid, and quite a resounding one. Mouth: rather surprisingly, it’s the fruitiness that dominates, especially mentholated passion fruit. Also chervil, verbena, mugwort, woodruff… It’s crazy what grows in Tasmania (ha). Finish: very long and, let’s not beat about the bush, very peppery, in the style of some herbal liqueur from a small republic of the former Soviet Union. Love you. The aftertaste is dominated by fir extract (same comment) and lovage. Comments: a very impressive little beast, don’t be fooled by the relatively low strength, this has almost the power of a cask strength.
SGP:466 - 88 points.

I’d like, to round off this already slightly overlong session, to take just a wee sideways step towards New Zealand. Seen from WF Towers, it’s next door…

Scapegrace ‘Anthem’ (46%, OB, New Zealand, French oak + Manuka smoke, 2025)

I don’t think I’ve quite understood everything about this manuka smoke business, but never mind, let’s press on… Colour: gold. Nose: spruce at full blast, kelp, rubber, capers. There, that should give you an idea. Mouth: a carbon copy of the nose, herbal, very fermentary, acetic, with wee pickled onions, pickled mushrooms, and an impression of charcoal ashes. Finish: fairly long, yeasty, briny, with some somewhat lovely acidity. Comments: it’s weird and therefore interesting, even very interesting. Bravo!
SGP:363 - 80 points.

(Thank you Morten)

Check the index of all Australian whiskies we've tasted