Stringybark Smoked Single Malt Whisky will be released by Archie Rose as a limited edition on 6 October.
One of a few Australian wood-smoked malt whiskies ever released the whisky is the 11th release in Archie Rose’s ‘Trials & Exceptions’ series, and the second in a two part series that pays homage to eucalyptus trees, following the release of the Red Gum Smoked Single Malt earlier this year.
Will Edwards, Founder of Archie Rose, said he was thrilled by the new expression.
“This is a particularly exciting release for Archie Rose, as it represents a milestone not only in our own history, but also in how whisky has traditionally been made,” Will explains.
“We always strive to re-define distilling traditions, putting innovation and sustainability at the forefront of everything we do, and this release really showcases those values and our goal to create truly Australian whiskies.”
Archie Rose Master Distiller Dave Withers agrees with Will, and also highlighted the sustainability positives of using Australian native wood to smoke whisky, as opposed to shipping peated barley from Scotland.
“Like all great whisky lovers, I have been forever fascinated by the flavour of smoke in whiskies. Using Scottish peated malt to make an Australian whisky seemed silly. The malt speaks of its origin in flavour and provenance,” Dave said.
“We felt it was really important to therefore reimagine what an Australian smoked whisky made with native Australian ingredients could look like. In essence we wanted to make a whisky with a distinctively Australian voice and flavour.”
The whisky itself has been made with a five-malt mash bill, including a local malted barley that has been smoked with wood from the stringybark eucalypt. Each of these malts has been mashed, fermented, distilled and matured separately, allowing Archie Rose’s distillation team to make subtle adjustments at every step of the production, dependent on the malt and spirit at hand.
In particular, this allows the distillery to select individual yeast strains for particular malts, alongside different cask maturations and ageing conditions.
The end result, the distiller says, is a whisky ‘reminiscent of one of the great Australian scents: eucalyptus, smoked meats, and the beguiling flavours of campfire smoke on the tip of your tongue.’
Just 2450 bottles were made, and these will be available fire the Archie Rose website and Cellar Door from 6 October, for an RRP of $199.
