Morris Whisky has unveiled its latest offering: a single malt whisky aged in heavily charred Muscat fortified wine casks.
Morris’s Head Distiller, Darren Peck, explained the process behind this whisky.
“Here at Morris, we really appreciate heavily smoked whiskies but also know this isn’t for everyone so experimented with these distinctive flavour profiles to create something special that our Morris fans will love,” Peck said.
“By exploring the depths of the barrel charring process our aim was to create a mature single malt that could carry the complexity of heavily charred oak flavours from barrel to the bottle.
“We then wanted to see if and how these flavours could best compliment the luscious intensity of our aged Muscat, conducting countless finishing trials to find the perfect marriage of these two distinctive flavour profiles,” Peck added.
The final product is a single malt that is said to offer ‘a marriage of dry-biscuit maltiness, rich luscious raisin fruits, soft wood-aged characters and a lingering smokiness.’
“We believe the unique ‘Smoky Fortified’ finish is like no other and truly pushes the boundaries of what can be achieved via cask innovation,” Peck commented.
Morris Whisky is created at the Morris of Rutherglen family winery, using locally sourced ingredients and the winery’s fortified wine casks. This Smoked Muscat expression joins two other Morris whiskies launched last year – Morris Signature and Morris Muscat Barrel Whisky.
“Our whiskies will always reflect the award-winning Morris fortified barrels they are finished in, but we have been excited to look at how we can be inspired by cask innovation,” Peck concluded.
This bottling is a limited edition, and retails at $189RRP from the Morris website and selected retailers.
There is something unique and special about this whiskey. I am writing this review before reading the tasting notes. I have recently enjoyed drinking the signature and the Muscat barrel, so I had to try this new smoked variant.
The nose is distinct, smokey but not like any other peated whiskey. This whiskey clearly has a unique wood that has been used. There is something very familiar to Australia and very familiar to Australians that like cooking with wood. It leaves me feeling like I’m a kid again. It is a dewy winter’s morning and my father has started the bbq using any fallen branches he can find.
The mouth feel is soft with a touch of oiliness to it. The flavour lingers on the tongue. Honey and pepper, flowers and smoke. I absolutely love this drop. If only I could afford to buy a case! Well done Morris. Thank you for this opportunity.