Iniquity Whisky – Not Your Everyday Dram
Without making ourselves sound too obnoxious and ignorant, as fantastic as Australia is, it generally isn’t a country you associate with whisky.
Australia conjures up images in your mind’s eye of scorching hot sunshine, BBQs, cricket, ice cold lagers, and ridiculously jacked kangaroos that seem intent on getting into fist fights with members of the public. What you generally don’t think of when somebody mentions the ‘land down under’ however, is whisky. Well, that’s soon to change.
We love our friends in Oz, and just to help us fall in love with the country even more, it turns out that Australia is producing some truly incredible whisky, particularly Tin Shed Distilling Co, and their award-winning ‘Iniquity’ range of whisky.
In their own words, it is ‘immoral, sinful, and just plain wicked’ and we here at Great Drams absolutely love it. With so many drams from their Iniquity range picking up numerous awards, here’s a look at some of their most popular releases.
So, follow us into our little den of iniquity as we take a more detailed look at some of the truly exceptional whiskies they produce.
Up first, from their ‘anomaly series’ we have the brilliantly named ‘Flustercluck’ whisky.
Having won numerous gold and silver awards, this pale straw gold coloured whisky is incredibly well balanced, deceptively smooth, and was the result of numerous errors. As you probably know however, some of the culinary world’s most delicious creations came about by accident.
The name is a jovial play on words, emphasising the many mistakes that occurred when producing this remarkable tipple. From being filed into the cask at a very low ABV, to being smoked with the wrong peat, and stored in far too hot conditions, Flustercluck is the epitome of a happy accident, and we love it.
At 49.1% ABV it has less burn than you might expect.
On the nose you get notes of tropical fruits, cookies and vanilla ice cream, American oak, Caribbean spices, caramelised pineapple, and a moderate amount of smoky peat notes.
On the palate your tastebuds should be dancing, with a whole cacophony of flavours to be explored. The overwhelming flavours however, should come in the form of caramel and toffee, with demerara sugar and vanilla shining through, with a little more than a touch of smoked oak and dark chocolate.
The finish is drawn out and will linger for quite a while, leaving you with creamy dark chocolate, butterscotch, and yet more smoke to finish.
This dram is very moreish and pairs unbelievably well with Mars bars of all things. Seriously, try it and thank us later!
Up next, we have Flustercluck Too.
Flustercluck Too is one of those rare instances where the sequel lives up to, or even betters its predecessor. Think of it as The Godfather Part 2, Terminator 2, or Aliens of the whisky world.
This time around however, the final product was no accident, they just really liked the name.
This too is a gold medal winner, though this one has more of a wine influence, which helps balance out the flavours perfectly.
Flustercluck Too is more of a sunflower yellow than pale straw this time around, and at 50% ABV it is a touch stronger.
Having been aged in a combination of American oak casks and French oak casks, it is a much smoother and fruiter tipple than its predecessor.
On the nose you should immediately detect golden honey on warm buttered toast with a hint of lemon zest and marmalade sprinkled in for good measure. Sniff again, and fresh sea spray should hit your nose, accompanied by liquorice all sorts, fruity lollies, bonfire smoke, and a hint of butterscotch.
On the palate, sharp lemon sherbet sweets should shine through, accompanied by floral notes, a hint of vanilla, candied orange peel, and waves of campfire smoke.
The finish is not as long as you might expect, despite there being heaps of mouthfeel here. You should pick up peppery notes with burnt pineapple, peat smoke, salted liquorice sweets, and a whisper of orange zest.
If you do find this initially too harsh, a drop or two of water will take this whisky to a whole other dimension.
In the words of Monty Python, ‘and now for something completely different’ we have the Den’s Dram #57.
Surprise, surprise, this too is an award-winner, having picked up the best Australian Single Malt World Whisky Awards 2023 Gold Medal, as well as gold for Best in Category.
This small batch release was matured for 4 years and 3 months in an ex-port cask, whish has helped give it an incredible crimson honey colour. At 56.8% ABV, she kicks like a mule, but in the best possible way.
On the nose you will almost certainly detect smoke from the onset. This will fade however, and give your nose the chance to pick up red cherries, dark chocolate, honeycomb, sticky plums, and even a touch of roasted coconut before the smoke returns.
On the palate you get a slightly oily mouthfeel, with heaps of flavours shining through in waves. Ripe morello cherries will be present, along with butterscotch and vanilla toffee. These quickly dissipate, only to be replaced with bonfire embers, grilled pears and orchard fruits, and a touch of toffee apple.
The finish is deceptively smooth and drawn out for a dram with such a high ABV. Again, the dominating notes are of butterscotch, bonfire smoke, and vanilla. This is a very moreish dram that is too easy to drink!
A relatively newcomer, this dram has not yet been entered into any events, but watch this space.
A cask strength whisky, the 56% ABV certainly lets you know who’s boss. From the onset you can see the influence of the various casks used to age this great dram, particularly the ex-port and American oak.
This whisky has a stunning auburn colour, giving you plenty of toffee and honey notes on the nose. Sniff again and sticky maple syrup and dark treacle should shine through, accompanies by rich molasses, dried fruits, cream sherry, ginger nut biscuits, and a hint of salted pine needle. Try hard enough, and mint Aero chocolate bar should make an appearance. There is a lot going on here, and we love it.
On the palate, you get gentle notes of ripe caramelised apricots and burnt caramel, accompanied by caramel and toffee, sticky dates, Jaffa cakes, and creamy milk chocolate with a touch of creamy toasted almonds.
The finish lingers and grows over time. You should pick up caramel and hazelnut notes, fire-roasted chestnuts, burnt caramel, and a complexity of other sweet, creamy, and fruity notes.
The penultimate Iniquity whisky we have for you today is this number 23 from their hugely successful Silver Batch series.
Typical of their house style, and made using a combination of port and sherry barrels for maturation, you can see why choosing the right cask is so important when it comes to creating an award-winning whisky.
Made as a result of hours of painstaking research, blending, and crafting, they wanted to create a whisky that had all of the characteristics of their previous 22 batches in the silver series, while taking it up a notch.
The end result is a crimson-amber whisky with an ABV of 46% that could very well be the best of their Silver Batch series yet,
On the nose, the port and sherry influence of the casks comes through instantly, with plenty of red berries, grapes, and sticky date aromas to be had. Accompanying these you should pick up toffee and caramel, winter herbs, pink marshmallows, candied lime zest, orange peel, and a touch of barrel char. There’s certainly plenty to keep your nose hairs twitching.
On the palate the combination of flavours and aromas doesn’t stop there, though. Your first taste of this gorgeous dram should present you with plenty of caramel and toffee, accompanied by fresh herbs, floral peppermint notes, vanilla, and more ripe summer berries.
The finish is very smooth, leaving you with notes of ginger cookies, ripe oranges, more mint, sticky dates, sultanas and prunes, and a whisper of sea salt.
Finally, last, but certainly not least, we have Talamara.
Made from light local peat, and soon to be released, this is the smoothest dram on our list today, coming in at a soothing 40% ABV.
Aged in a combination of shiraz, port, and sherry casks, this reddish-copper coloured dram is a sight to behold.
On the nose, you should detect a complexity of aromas, with burnt charcoal, summer hay, cedar, Bakewell tart, and distant bonfire smoke all coming through in varying degrees.
On the palate, marzipan and Panattoni are there straight away. Your next sip should present plenty of sticky dates, figs, and apricots, with a touch of smoked oak char and maple syrup.
The finish is smooth as you might expect, leaving you with a long and drawn out experience of sweet malt, ripe fruits, warm caramel, and a touch of campfire ash.
If you’re looking for a selection of rare, award-winning, limited-edition, and delicious whiskies just like the ones listed above, be sure to head on over to the Greatdrams.com website to see what we’re all about.
Here you’ll find all manner of different whiskies, primarily Scotch, to suit all palates and budgets. Whether you’re looking for smooth and creamy, harsh and smoky, or anything in between, here at Great Drams, we’ve got what you need, and plenty more besides.
Greg
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