Old Kempton 10th Anniversary Single Malt Whisky 500ml

Old Kempton 10th Anniversary Single Malt Whisky is a small-batch Tasmanian single malt bottled at 50% ABV.

Ten years of distilling stand behind this 500-litre batch, and head distiller Rob Tyson picked casks to cover the whole span of it: half the blend was distilled at the original Redlands Estate site, the other half at Dysart House in Kempton, where the operation now sits. Tasmanian malted barley, double distillation in copper pot stills and a spread of cask types, Pinot Noir, Bourbon and Port, give the blend its range. Bottling at 50 per cent keeps it approachable while holding the depth each component brought. Anniversary releases can be sentimental exercises; this one reads as a genuine account of how the distillery got here.

Dried fruit, caramel and warm spice, with the Bourbon wood lending vanilla and the Pinot casks a red-fruited edge. Drink it neat at room temperature in a tulip glass; a few drops of water opens the middle. Too layered to mix, so keep it for slow sipping.