You probably know the Australian distillery Archie Rose for their Gin, after all, they have won countless awards for their Signature Dry Gin including gold medals at both the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (USA) & the Global Gin Masters (London).
Even their Vodka has won a gold medal at San Francisco World Spirits Competition (USA) and been voted Australia’s Best Vodka at the Global Vodka Masters (London).
Well, soon you’re also going to know the distillery for their Whisky as well. From 1 August, Archie Rose will release batch one of its Rye Malt Whisky as the first of its core range whiskies.
Layered and aromatic, the Rye Malt Whisky offers notes of spiced custard, ginger, stone fruit and baked apple pie, with a fresh herbal finish that lingers on the palate.
More awards
Now if you’re worried that the Whisky is untested then fear not, as Australia’s most highly awarded distillery, Archie Rose sent work-in-progress cask samples of the Rye Malt Whisky out before it’s release and has already got some runs on the board.
To date, the Whisky has won a guernsey for Australia’s Best Whisky – International Wine & Spirits Competition (London), Australia’s Best Rye Whisky at the SIP Awards (USA), Australia’s Best Rye Whisky at the World Whisky Masters (London) and a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (USA).
Using selectively sourced rare malted rye and the finest malted barley from progressive malt houses, paired with virgin American oak casks air-dried for 36 months and matured in the maritime air of coastal Sydney, it showcases Archie Rose’s focus on malt, and approach to working with rye, being a far more difficult malt to process than barley.
Vision
“Our vision for whisky has always been to speak of our experience as Australians, utilise the incredible raw materials available to us, and strive for genuine innovation in what is typically an extremely traditional industry,” says Archie Rose founder, Will Edwards.
“We have crafted a distinct, charming and flavoursome spirit which showcases the quality of its components, being unique malted rye, local malted barley and incredible, painstakingly 36-month air-dried oak, as well as the innovative production methods we employ in the distillery.”
A successful brew, fermentation, distillation or maturation is only as good as the malt you start with
Passionate about malt being the fundamental building block to its whiskies, and backed by its conviction that whisky starts life in the field rather than the distillery, Archie Rose is working with Australian growers to support this ethos.
“We’re working with growers in Griffith, NSW to revive heritage rye and barley strains and together creating malt crop volume and diversity to support our own products and the future growth of the Australian whisky industry. Our overall goal is to source all of our seven varieties of malt from NSW, which would be a pretty special result, and one we will be incredibly proud of” says Archie Rose Master Distiller, Dave Withers.
“A successful brew, fermentation, distillation or maturation is only as good as the malt you start with”, he says. “We want to put malt back onto the agenda.
“We’ve spent an enormous amount of time in research and development, looking at how we can create a rich and engaging, complex yet approachable whisky, and we believe we’ve made something really special,” says Edwards.
Chocolate Rye
But the Rye Malt Whisky isn’t the only expression that the distillery has planned. Archie Rose will also be releasing a limited edition Chocolate Malt Whisky, which has been drawn from a single batch of eight casks, on Thursday 27 June 2019.
The release which will comprise of only 1,148 bottles will be the only whisky of its kind in Australia, using choc rye, rye malt and barley malt to yield flavours of caraway, mint, shortbread, violets, hot chocolate and fruit jams.
“It’s incredibly exciting to reveal our limited-edition Chocolate Rye Malt Whisky as our first whisky release and as an excellent insight into our long-term fascination, experimentation and dedication to malt”, says Archie Rose founder, Will Edwards.
Process
Australian re-shaved, toasted and charred Apera (Sherry) casks were utilised, adding notes of dried fruits and sultanas, which complement the biscuity, creamy and chocolate flavours from the spirit.
“Chocolate Rye Malt yield is really low – to put this in perspective, I’m talking fifteen times lower than a typical distillers malt,” says Archie Rose Master Distiller, Dave Withers.
“Despite this inefficiency, and subsequently much higher cost, we use chocolate rye for its incredible flavour, as it adds fantastic accents of cocoa, cola and coffee.”
“For this release, the chocolate rye was used with restraint rather than making it too overt and overpowering, and was fermented with a combination of brewers’ and distillers’ yeasts, again reducing efficiency but maximising flavour,” Withers says.
Archie Rose Chocolate Rye Malt Whisky will be available 27 June from the bar at Archie Rose Distilling in Sydney or online archierose.com.au
Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky “1st Batch” will be available for purchase via a ballot allocation drawn on 27 July or from 1 August from Archie Rose.
