Hand crafted with a touch of class - Woodford Reserve Distillers Select

Woodford Reserve Distillers Select

If there is any bourbon whisky currently released in Australia that displays a sense of premium nobility it would be Woodford Reserve. I was first introduced to Woodford Reserve many years ago now when our club first had it's beginnings and have always enjoyed a drop now and then. A clever bit of word smithing allows Woodford Reserve to describe itself as the following quoted line from the official website:

"Woodford Reserve isn't manufactured, it's hand crafted in small batches. This artisanal process allows us to craft it at all five sources of bourbon flavour giving it its distinct taste and crisp, clean finish."

Woodford Reserve is classed as a Small Batch, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and is currently under the ownership of the Brown-Forman Corporation. Woodford Reserve is also considered as one of the oldest Kentucky distilleries still operating, beginning production around 1780, it has seen its share of owners. A respite saw it in the mothballs for some time before then being repurchased by Brown-Forman and returning to production in 1993. The distillery took on the name Woodford Reserve in 1996.

At this time Woodford Reserve pretty much releases 3 specific whiskies: Woodford Reserve Distillers Select; Woodford Reserve Double Oak; Woodford Reserve Masters Collection. The bottle for the regular is iconic in itself but if you ever have the opportunity to own a bottle of the Masters Collection (which at this time I do) it is just as iconic, taking the form of a potstill reflecting the stills used to makes all Woodford Reserve whiskies today. I cannot recall ever trying the Double Oak but the opportunity is coming up very soon to do so and I am very excited about that indeed.

To find out more about just how Woodford Reserve do things check out the official movie released. It is well made and give enough explanation without getting bored of the facts. Note the shape o f the pot stills imported from Scotland and the triple distillation process.

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Woodford Reserve Distillers Select

Distiller: Woodford Reserve

Location / Region: Kentucky, USA

Alcohol: 43.2%

Batch: 35

Bottle: 3477

Colour: Rich Amber

Nose: Butter spice, sweet corn syrup, caramel oak.

Taste: Full bodied with toasted cereals, honey, sweet corns and a rye hit on the tail to give it a balanced kick. The thickness it offers is very cushioning but not chewy like a full rye whiskey could be yet it still fills the mouth in the same manner. I even get the dusky dryness right on the tip that a rum develops but don't associate this in any way to a rum.

Finish: Quite long and the heat of the spices returns developing a toasted almond scent and copper tang after the first dram.

Overall the corn sticks and the mouth swells with the intensity of flavour making it an enriching whisky for the senses. Nothing to complain about as I am always happy to sip a Woodford Reserve on those balmy evenings.

Look, this is a special kind of bourbon whisky no doubt, though some may find the sweetness a little over powering. Woodford Reserve claims their rye content of 18% is high for a bourbon, which it is, but the corn is prevalent through out which is understandable at 72%. Still the balance is good and they do retain a characteristic different from the other Bourbons potentially due to its triple distillation and pot stills. Also being small batch means slight variations each time but that is something I look forward to enjoying.

If I was to give a dram then it would be 6 out of 7. Well worth the purchase especially if you want to impress your bourbon drinking associates with a touch of class.

The Baron

Great Expectations - Highland Park 18yo

Highland Park 18yo

We all know Highland Park as the northern most distillery in Scotland, located within the Orkney Isles. At the time of writing, the distillery is owned by The Edrington Group, which also boasts The Macallan single malt distillery and blends such as The Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark.

I bought this whisky after accumulating some in-store credit with a particular bottle shop here in Australia. I had previously tasted the whisky and choose it on the basis of my fond memories (as well as an underwhelming range of whisky in store). Whether it was my over-reaching expectations (admittedly it was a very long time ago when I tried this expression and I have tasted a lot more whisky since then), but I found the experience a little disappointing. I am not really sure what I was expecting, but this is what I found…

Nose: the Sherry influence hits immediately, dried fruit, Christmas cake, orange liquor, vanilla, maybe some cinnamon and oak. Your nostrils don't take a beating with this whisky so dig your nose in deep. The smoke is very subtle, almost undetectable. You can sense the whisky is delicate.

Taste: very supple and soft as the Sherry flavours form immediately. In the back and sides of your mouth you feel a salty citrus bite that almost feels youthful, but is probably the peaty-iodine influence. It is somewhat contradictory to the Sherry flavours dominating the front of the mouth. I wouldn’t say this whisky is short, but not sure I would say it is long either. Its age obviously makes it a very smooth dram...I am thinking you could drink a lot of this (responsibly of course)!

Overall, the Highland Park 18yo is incredibly delicate given its age and Sherry finish, making it incredibly easy to drink. If I was to give a dram then I would rate it a subjective 5.5 from a possible seven. Would I buy it again? Probably not. For the price I would be looking for something bolder and more interesting, but that's just me. You should try it and form you own opinions!

Keep dramin,
The Diplomat

The Stranded Man - Wild Turkey Spiced Bourbon

Wild Turkey Spiced Bourbon is discovered

Wild Turkey Spiced Bourbon… ok ok don't groan I know what your already thinking. So called spicing a drink such as rum makes something more drinkable or so it is assumed. In most cases you would be thinking along the same lines as I am. When I heard that Wild Turkey had released a Spiced Bourbon to the local market it left me curious but also skeptical.

"Really?" I thought, Wild Turkey is already good enough so what are they trying to achieve here? It's a mixer no two ways about it and it makes a pretty damn good one at that but it also is ok neat. Australia is a top consumer of bourbon even if the main portion of the population drinking it only takes it with cola. With the rise and ever rising cocktail scene it makes sense that companies like Wild Turkey tap this market too.

Wednesday, February 26, offered me the opportunity to attend the official launch of the Wild Turkey Spiced Bourbon here in Australia. Held on the 10th floor of the Campari headquarters in St Leonards Sydney, we were treated to an afternoon of Wild Turkey Spiced Bourbon: Neat or on the rocks; mixed with cola or dry ginger ale; blended into a spoil of cocktails.

In and around the Capari Headquarters bar

The official line is that Wild Turkey Spiced Bourbon (WTSB to us Kentucky islanders) is recommended to either be served mixed with cola (the lead service option) or neat over ice. Though it was OK neat it is really the cola that brings out the vanillas, caramel sugars and spices. Speaking of spices, WTSB takes it's name from the 3 additional spices added to the bourbon being vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamon. Encourage by the quoted term "island-inspired aroma", as the afternoons theme was obvious, these spices a clearly predominant through out and for a bourbon at a mere 4 to 6 years old they did do a good job of balancing out the corn richness.

Ollie mixing it up

At the counter our barman and National Brand Ambassador for the afternoon, Oliver 'Ollie' Stuart, "it has been a long time since I was called a bartender" Ollie shot off at me, bashed, mashed, sliced, and swizzled the obvious choices as stated above from behind a clearly overstocked bar that needed some serious punishing. Not stopping at the simple mixes Ollie delivered a cocktail of fresh juiced granny smith apples, ice and WTSB. It was a very simple cocktail and I did feel it needed a spike of some sort but it was certainly refreshing and drunk all too quickly. On asking what the cocktail was called Ollie was lost for words though we bantered some names around (unofficially of course) and I settled on either calling it The Itchy Granny or The Granny Snatch. With a wild smirk on his face and a screamed "NOOOO" Ollie was not impressed with either titles. Hey rumour has to start somewhere and you heard it here first. As the afternoon slid by on, plastic palm trees leant, blue clam shells cracked open, sand dusted the bar, and the heavens opened up to a monsoonal downpour, we also saw the impromptu WTSB Old Fashioned hit the counter. On sampling it left me tasting intense pork, chives and coriander dumplings with orange dipping sauce flavours in the mouth! It was like eating... but not.

The Stranded Man and Ollie hamming it up.

With ample food of cheeses dips, mini pies and sausage rolls making the rounds, It was time to really get the ball rolling. Set at the entry to the bar was a a comical island setting of blow up bright orange and green coconut palms, kids clam shells filled with sand set on fake grass turfing the floor. With the pantomime scene set, entering the grassed stage was the hero of the hour The Stranded Man, played by local Brand Ambassador Jordan 'Jay' Berger. Taking his newly rehearsed character as serious as any Hollywood method actor would, unshaven, smelling of whisky (that is an assumption as I tried not to get too close), with script and skanky looking bottle in hand, The Standard Man immersed us into the story of how he unearthed the story of Wild Turkey Spiced Bourbon on the Island Of Kentucky. Dodging between hand held goPro island footage and a direct passionate presentation The Standard Mans quotes of "Awesome!","A little bit of true escape", "Crazy story, eh?" made hard to not believe how true this story really was. H. G. Wells would have been proud.

Yep... the unmarked bottle you found in the sand may just have been that lost sample of milked walrus piss Dr Moreau misplaced all those years ago. That one all important bottle that would have saved the degenerative effects of his Beast Folk. But when your The Stranded Man sometimes you need to take the bullet and risk it all for a drink. This time is payed and Wild Turkey Spiced Bourbon was found.

The Stranded Man playing the role 

Overall it was a great story and good event to be attending. A refreshing drink Wild Turkey Spiced Bourbon is not taking itself too seriously and knows it's place in the whisky world. I would honestly be more inclined to by a bottle of this at $49.99 RRP over a spiced rum any day even if it was just for mixing. Thanks to Campari and Men At Work Comms for the invite and hope to come again soon.

The Baron

D.T.W.C. was invited as a guest this event. All views and opinions are our own unless otherwise stated.

A fitting introduction - GlenDronach & Douglas Cook

The GlenDronach 31yo Grandeur

GlenDronach is not a whisky we see get a lot of dram time here in Australia in comparison to other scotch whiskies. So when the Oak Barrel put on a GlenDronach show with Douglas Cook, Regional Sales Manager and all round Nice Guy, it was a chance not to be missed. It has been a while since I was back at the oak barrel so it was good to be in familiar territory again.

GlenDronach Distillery is located in the Aberdeenshire of the Scottish Highlands. In 2008 GlenDronach it was purchased by BenRiach Distillery so now once again proclaiming the pride of being a privately owned once more. Classed as being somewhat as The Grandfather Of Sherry Casks Matured Whisky, prior to the 2008 purchase, GlenDronach has had a chequered history of ownership including a mothballing from 1996 to 2002. GlenDronach does not hide the fact either that a minor percentage of its whisky goes out to blenders making up a part of the familiar Teachers and Balantines brands in the past. Primarily maturation in Spanish ex-sherry casks make up the bulk of the GlenDronach ageing process though there is a few alternate casks used for experimentation or still remaining from the previous owners floating around.

Douglas Cook of GlenDronach Distillery

Douglas presented himself well providing a wealth of knowledge about the distillery and the processes of making whisky to all those willing to ask and listen. Douglas's reputation had proceed him in regards to how he liked to talked so it was no surprise my note pad was 6 pages full before we even got to taste the first whisky (I really need to develop better hand writing skills). Douglas described an interesting story about how it is recorded that GlenDronach's original marketing strategy in the 1800's was built on word of mouth by notable ladies of the night working the Edinburgh streets. Is also refreshing to hear Douglas class GlenDronach as a "craft distillery" which is a term I have not heard used of any Scottish Distillers themselves. Like most distillers of course they use no artificial colouring or chill filtration. All their whiskies are unpeated and they use a 3rd party malting facility as GlenDronach dose snot have its own matlings floor. It is also worth a note that they fill their casks at around 62% ABV and that their oldest cask at this time was laid down in 1968 and is still a high enough proof to be considered whisky.

Chocolate and a GlenDronach 12yo

After the event Douglas was more than willing to answer a series of queries I had scratched down in my trusty note book. Though I asked many a question Douglas was stumped on a few and noted that they really needed to be directed  to the Master Distiller, Bill Walker. Bless Douglas though he did his best as I hounded him on anyway. Following is some of my questions and answers by Douglas though I must point out I hastily was scrawling away so I would be paraphrasing in most cases in the responses.

Are GlenDronach Whiskies all 100% matured in Spanish ex-sherry? "About 90% of out casks are ex-sherry but we also have Port, Madeira, and Sauterne in small quantities. We also have some ex-bourbon casks remaining".

How long has sherry casks been the focus of Glendronach's maturing process? "Record's show Glendronach has been using sherry casks since the 1800's. More modern times, not sure, maybe 1960's".

How much does it cost for a spanish sherry cask? "About £600 pounds"

Why do the sherry casks cost so much? "There is too many distilleries buying casks which is making the prices rise".

GlenDronach is a key ingredient in Balantines and Teachers whiskies. What percentage of GlenDronach is retained for the distilleries own single malt range? (I commented straight after maybe 80%) "A good guess. I Would say yes about 20% is sold for blending in the past". Douglas has since confirmed with Billy Walker that 100% of GlenDronach is now kept for bottling as The GlenDronach Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

How are you finding Australia's response to GlenDronach? "Good. From when I was here 2 years ago Australians are asking more questions about quality, more about our limited releases, and the stores (bottle shops and staff) are more tuned in about whisky".

When was the change from using coal to fire the stills to steam. And do you think it has improved the character of the whisky? "2006 we changed to steam"."At this time we have nothing to profile as these whiskies have not reached full maturity. You will have to ask Billy about that in more detail". Douglas then went on to comment about how the coal fire (being much hotter) would create a caramelisation in the still which steam does not.

The evenings lineup

A standing room event only saw us arrive to a tidy little dram of GlenDronach 12yo being handed out which we sipped a bit too quick as it was a good 15min before out host took the stand and by then we had already emptied the glass. This compounded a problem as the whiskies were served out of sequence for the remainder of the night against Douglas's tastings. A few of us did manage to hold onto our drams and made the effort to get back on track to what was being talked about. Dram for dram was poured back into the same glass as well. With no real way of cleaning out the glass I felt it did upset nosing and tasting with taint of the previous whisky in the background.

On tasting was the GlenDronach 12yo, 15yo Revival, 18yo Allardice, and 31yo Grandeur. Following is some brief notes I took on the night:

GlenDronach 12yo
ABV: 43%
Matured: in ex-sherry Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez casks with the higher percentage of maturation in Oloroso.
Colour: Red Amber

Nose: Sweet florals, raisins, vanillas and creams and a slight oily character.

Taste: Dark chocolate, almonds, creme brulee. A full bodied nature with carbon and ginger spice in the lower palate.

Finish: Medium and dry.


GlenDronach 15yo Revival
ABV: 46%
Matured: 100% Oloroso. This is considered the "House style".
Colour: Toffee caramel

Nose: High clove spices, warmed sherry, cola and toasted cereals.

Tasted: Silky smooth on the lips before the nose again is initially spiked with something liked crushed ferns that then gives way to the palate developing a citrus tang. Full bodied with hot ginger and mint spices leading to mouth puckering.

Finish: Long and chest warming


GlenDronach 18yo Allardice
ABV: 46%
Matured: 100% Oloroso
Colour: Burnt toffee

Nose: Heavy sherry wine influence in the forefront, large raisin, orange citrus and fruit spices.

Taste: Dark chocolate and oranges, really dry and chewy with some spiky spices prickling the lips.
Finish: heavy and sits high in the throat. Loses it's sweetness very fast.


GlenDronach 31yo Grandeur
ABV: 45.8%
Matured: 100% Oloroso
Colour: Ruby red.

Nose: Sour grapes, furniture polish with mild brown sugar sweetness and subdued cherries.

Taste: Coffee, almonds and spiced ginger. A little chewy and the furniture polish still remains.

Finish: Medium, nutty and uninteresting.


Overall it was a fitting introduction to GlenDronach. They were very pleasant whiskies and for ones being aged in 100% ex-sherry casks I encountered none of the horrible syrupy unbalanced sweetness so many distillers are making the mistake of these days. The casks are clearly picked for exceptional quality to impart enough influence without reducing nuances that make singe malt whisky what it is. Douglas noted he feels that as the whiskies matured exclusively under the new ownership come online these expressions are only going to get better. Bring it on I say.

The Baron

Welcome To The Tap Kingdom - Tap King

The Tap King out of the box.

As a country Australia may not make a lot of whisky (though we should) but we sure as hell make a lot of beer. In light of this as always I am keen to extend our clubs range of undistilled whisky knowledge. Sit back and let us examine a little more about one of our countries greatest inventions of the 21st Century, the Tap King.

When I heard about this release mid last year I could not believe it was actually true. I just had to get out there and purchase a Tap King as a Father Day Present to myself, then of course for my father and yes also the father-in-law The Grey Bush. I mean seriously, a beer tap in the fridge is a dream come true for any domesticated male. As quoted from the Tap King website "Tap King is not just the greatest technological breakthrough since the wheel, it’s also a way of life. Welcome to the Tap Kingdom". Move aside Game Of Thrones my frosty kingdom is now my trusty refrigerator and it welcomes me daily.

The Tap King is a Lion product and was released in July 2013. Lion, formally Lion Nathan until 2011, is considered Australia's largest beer brewer. At the time of the Tap King release we saw a series of 6 beers that were available to purchase in single or double keg packs: Tooheys New; XXXX Gold; Tooheys Extra Dry; Hahn Super Dry; James Boags Premium; James Squire Chancer Golden Ale. To this date this has not changed but it would be great to see some other beers come to the party. It is safe to assume until Lion licences to other parties the Tap King system it will only be additional Lion family brands released. Still for everyday drinking beer the line up is great. Regular every day beer on tap and leave the bottles for the craft brews.

The advertising campaign for Tap King is outstanding in my books and absolutely classic that they were able to secure Lionel Richie to play the part and sing that classic song "Hello". If you read comments across the internet it is believed Lionel Richie has enjoyed a renewed interest in the music scene globally due to his appearance in this ad campaign. How true is that? Maybe not that much and I could not find and solid source to prove it. Anyway the dude is pretty cool back in the 80's to now and if anything he has brought instant respect to the product.

Of course Lionel Richie may not be supporting this brand forever so Tap King has it's secondary characters Charles The Firth, played by Charles Firth, and Harry Wizenhiemer Professional Tap King Instructor. Both of who introduce the Tap king in a series of short videos taking you through the ins and outs of using your Tap King.

Economically it is still cheaper to by the beer in the bottle as it works out to be 10 bottles of beer to a 3.2litre keg. So why is it not cheaper as the shipping, storage, and packaging is less? Just have a look at the plastic kegs themselves, the mechanism for locking in and the CO2 cylinder contained within every keg. Personally I think the pricing is actually quiet good for what you get and the convince of having Lionel Rich hand you a beer every time from the fridge (metaphorically speaking).

So let us unpack the system and just look at what you get and how it works. The Tap King is made up of 2 integral parts: the Tap King Dispenser, retailing around $33.99AU; a plastic 3.2 litre keg, retailing between $18.99 up to $52.49AU depending on contents.

Unpacking the Tap King

Installing the Tap King dispenser is a pretty simple task. On opening the well presented dispenser box is a foam insert with simple to use instructions, retractable dispenser drip tray, magnetic dispenser badge, and plastic keg release handle used for recycling the kegs (not really needed as you can screw it off by hand anyway), and then below is the all in one dispenser itself. Pull it out and your already 50% of the way there. Turning the dispenser over and looking inside it is also all pretty straight forward on how it works. complete the setup by attaching the retractable drip tray, you will find some grippy handles for easy management in and out of the fridge. Apparently the whole thing is also washable though I would caution submerging it in anything apart from beer.

From start to finish

The kegs themselves are also very easy to store and connect to a dispenser. Each keg comes with its pre fitted connector that simply peals away to revel the pluggy bits and a large silver arrow makes it dead easy to know just which way to match it into the dispenser. Once the keg is married to the dispenser a simpler leaver is pulled down that makes the final airtight connection.

The last stage is simply laying into the fridge in a position that is easy to get at and start dispensing liquid gold. I have found it is good to let the keg rest a few minutes if you don't want a massively foamy head. First pours are usually foamy anyway as the pressure is needed to equalise though I have noticed a varied level of pressure from keg to keg so some will foam a lot on first pour while others hardly at all.

The Tap King Setup and ready to dispense.

When a keg runs dry it is simply a case of pulling out your next keg (that has been previously chilled in the fridge), then taking the Tap King dispenser and releasing the locking handle, pulling out the old keg and inserting the new, pull back down the handle. For the used keg unscrew the cap so the plastic keg can go in the recycle.

So how long does a keg last? Well if your like me usually a couple of weeks at best. It is recommended to drink within 21 days of tapping but I have found after going on a recent holiday that it retains pressure well and truly past that time period. Outstanding!

Easily fits into any standard fridge.

I am very happy with my Tap King. It is a hands down right on the mark product that is presented well, fills a clear market gap, and has very little that could go wrong with it. From box to fridge you could be poring a draught beer within 2 minutes provided you chilled your kegs prior. Swapping out a keg for a new one can be done is less than 30sec easy. If I was to give a dram an easy 6.75 out of 7.

If you do not have one of these I certainly encourage you try. Hello ladies!

The Baron