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World Whisky

Bakery Hill Peated Single Malt – Cask Strength from Australia

Young, almost savage feeling to the Nose, but time in the glass however, the Peat becomes less dominant. Bakery Hill did good, I dare say.

Originally posted to Reddit by Jan-12

Age: NAS ABV: 59.8 %

  • Colour:
  • Pale Gold

  • Nose:
  • There is a young, almost savage feeling to the Nose. Peat is the initial impression and it’s quite different from Islay Peat, certainly at first. It’s more like a mix of the Cooked Vegetables of the Jura Superstition and the Metallic/Rubber/Plastic impressions of the Irish Connemara Peated Single Malt. With time in the glass however, the Peat becomes less dominant, almost mellow and more in balance with the other aromas I pick up such as Pizza or (Sour) Bread Dough, Cured – and Raw Meat, Green Coffee Beans, Sweet Grains, Buttered Toast, Leather, Ashes, Wood and Brown Sugar.

    bakery-hill-cask-strength-peated-1

    After a while, light additional Sweet tones like Toffee, Honey, Vanilla, Milk and Butterscotch come through, as well as some Stone Fruit. The Alcohol is there for sure but not as overwhelming as you would expect given the ABV of around 60%.

  • Palate:
  • Very Powerful Delivery with Peat, Sweet Cereals, Vanilla, Wood, (Chili)Pepper, Malt, Toffee/Butterscotch, Salt, Berries and Marzipan.

  • Finish:
  • Quite lasting with Wood-Smoked Meat, Peat, Oak, Pepper, Aniseed, Licorice, Menthol, Talisker-like Pepper, Ashes and a handful of Salt.

With a bit of Water the Nose softens up and Malt, Toasted Grains, Peat, Toffee, Honey, Lemon and Leather form a nice combo. The Palate is toned down a bit but (Talisker) Pepper, Menthol, Salt and Licorice are stronger in the Finish and some Cocoa Powder is noticeable.

Rating: 85 / 100

Nose: 22 – Taste: 21 – Finish: 21 – Overall: 21

bakery-hill-cask-strength-peated-malt1

General Remarks: This Distillery was founded in 1998 by David Baker. The first spirit was produced in 2000 and the first Single Malt whisky was available in 2003. The Distillery is located in North Balwyn, Victoria in the South of Australia. It produces unpeated, peated and double matured (Ex-Bourbon and French Oak) Single Malts. The distillery only bottles Single Casks, does not use colourants and does not chill-filter. At first the Peat was imported from the UK but now it’s produced locally. The peated Bakery Hill matures in small 100 L refashioned Ex-Bourbon Casks from Jack Daniels to intensify the interaction between spirit and wood.

It’s not cheap at between 100-130 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good (Sip and Enjoy).

Conclusion: This is my first Australian whisky and I’m impressed. It’s a young whisky of course and there are some raw edges to the Nose of this peated Bakery Hill. I miss some extra Fruity tones and this whisky would benefit from a longer maturation and perhaps some additional Sherry Cask Finishing. But it’s certainly a well-crafted and interesting spirit with potential. It reminded me a bit of Talisker every once in a while. There are certainly some coastal elements to be found in this peated Bakery Hill. Would love to nose and taste a 16 or 18 years old in the coming years!

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