As an expression of their ongoing commitment to producing the highest quality Australian whiskies, Archie Rose unveils a new range that celebrates the beauty of their most distinguished individual barrels.
To celebrate ten years of making the highest quality Australian whisky, Archie Rose Distilling Co. is proud to announce the launch of their Single Cask Whisky Series, representing the pinnacle of their whisky-making endeavours.
The first three limited-edition releases will drop as Batch No.1 in June 2024, including a stringybark Smoked Rye Malt Whisky, Heritage Rye Malt Whisky and a Single Malt Whisky. There will be consecutive batch releases per year, with each release aiming to showcase three superlative whiskies.
Each whisky in this series is hand-selected by the distillery team, who are dedicated to seeking out the most exceptional casks from the 35,000 currently produced and housed by Archie Rose. While the vast majority of casks play beautifully in an orchestra occasionally there are casks of rare beauty that deserve to shine on their own. This new range celebrates those barrels, with the whisky then bottled and released in its purest form, uncut and unblended at cask strength.
“These single casks are carefully selected because the production team found something truly remarkable in them. A quality that could not be diluted by other high quality casks in a blend. Each one of these single casks had to be bottled on their own to let their beauty shine.” says Dave Withers, Master Distiller.
“Respect for ingredients has always been at the heart of what we do, and these single-cask whiskies are the purest expression of those ingredients. Especially in terms of the painstaking work we put into selecting the best oak in which to mature our whiskies, each cask has a unique story, and a unique flavour profile. It’s an amazing thing to come across a cask and say, “This. This one right here. That’s the essence of what we’re trying to achieve.” It’s a big step for us to be releasing these single casks as it represents a level of maturity for our whiskies, and the company as a whole, that we’ve been working towards for a decade”, says Will Edwards, Archie Rose Founder.
The first Single Cask whisky release features three superlative editions, representing the pinnacle of Archie Rose’s whisky-making endeavours.
Single Cask Whisky Batch No. 1: Smoked Rye
This cask-strength stringybark smoked heritage rye malt whisky is made from NSW heritage rye grain, custom-smoked exclusively for Archie Rose over sustainably harvested Australian native stringybark. A quintessential Australian whisky that puts locally-grown grains and native Australian timber in the spotlight, crafted with home-grown innovation.
A unique and entirely Australian spirit, Single Cask Smoked Rye Whisky balances sweetness, smoke and rye spice with flavours of campfire, grilled peaches and prosciutto.
Matured in second fill French oak, this whisky has an extremely complex and nuanced oak profile that beautifully compliments the smokey, spicy heritage rye.
Set aside from the 2023 Trials & Exceptions #14 series as an incredible single cask worthy of its own bottling it is now one of the first whiskies in the Single Cask series.
Single Cask Whisky Batch No. 1: Heritage Rye
The epitome of Archie Rose’s local heritage rye grain, shaped and evolved with the unique Australian climate, paying homage to the incredible heritage of fortified wines. The Single Cask Heritage Rye is a cask strength, single cask of the Riverina sourced heritage rye malt whisky, fully matured in an Australian apera cask.
The heritage rye profiled in this whisky has been specially cultivated in Western NSW, from heirloom rye grain, that has a darker, smaller seed than modern conventional rye. It features an earthy, fresh rye bread aroma with a toasty and biscuity like sweetness and a classic spicy finish.
Selected for its exceptional qualities, this single apera cask offers an explosion of rich fruit character balanced by the nutty spice of heritage rye.
Single Cask Whisky Batch No. 1: Single Malt
The perfect expression of Archie Rose’s now-classic single malt style using its unique six-malt-stream production process, this is a true celebration of everything Archie Rose loves about making whisky.
This single cask of Single Malt Whisky offers layers of malt-driven flavours, an excellent fruit profile and a beautifully balanced apera cask influence. At four and a half years old and full cask strength, Single Malt is the oldest cask of the three whiskies, with the concentration of flavours making this whisky both powerful and incredibly complex.
With sweet sticky raisins, strawberry and pineapple notes, the flavour profile sits happily in ‘sherry-bomb’ territory, with luxurious levels of fruit and complexity. Roasted almonds, presumed sassafras, espresso and cacao join rich and luxurious waves of concentrated, sticky fruit.
The first drop of the Single Cask Whiskies will be available exclusively at the Archie Rose Bar & Cellar Door, via https://archierose.com.au/ from 10 June. Each Single Cask Whisky bottle will come in a limited edition display box.
Single Cask Whisky Batch No. 1: Smoked Rye Malt Whisky – RRP $269, 65.10% ABV, 36 STD
Single Cask Whisky Batch No. 1: Heritage Rye – RRP $299, 68.2% ABV, 37.7 STD
Single Cask Whisky Batch No. 1: Single Malt Whisky – RRP $349, 66.9% ABV, 37 STD
Single Cask Whisky Series will also launch with a new Archie Rose Whisky Stave Knife, created together with knifemaker Karim Haddad. This will be offered as a complimentary gift with the purchase of three Single Cask Whiskies.