Old Kempton The Coachhouse Single Malt Whisky 500ml

Old Kempton The Coachhouse Single Malt Whisky is the distillery's top Tasmanian single malt, bottled at cask strength.

Coachhouse is assembled to represent the house style at full volume, from casks singled out for richer flavour and a broader back palate; for the first bottling that meant a selection of 100-litre casks comprising one Pinot Noir, three Sherry, two Port and a little Tokay. The wash is Tasmanian barley grown and malted at Cambridge, specified by Rob Tyson with the brewer before mashing, then taken twice through the squat Knapp Lewer copper stills built in Hobart. Five to six years in wood precede blending. Bottling without dilution gives it body the lighter releases cannot reach.

Raisin and prune meet marzipan and spice, with deeper toast showing as coffee and cocoa. Pastry, oatmeal and full-bodied butterscotch fill the palate, then a dry finish of tobacco, mellow oak, mixed spice and orange peel. Water brings white stone fruit forward. Neat, in a tulip glass.