NED Whisky has introduced Single Barrel 21C-137, the inaugural release in its new Vault Series which will showcase a range of single barrels selected for their high-end quality.
Scott Fitzsimons, Industry Engagement and Experience Manager at Top Shelf International, which owns NED Whisky said that 21C-137 is the first real showcase of the NED spirit in its purest form, and the ideal blend to kickstart the series designed for connoisseurs.
“We’ve wanted to do a single barrel series for a few years now, but the growth in the core releases has kept us needing all the barrels for them. I love a good single barrel – it always excites me to see it on Aussie or bourbon distillery labels – and some have been the best whiskies I’ve ever tasted,” said Fitzsimons.
“This barrel was discovered by Rachel Murphy, our Head of Maturation. She’d been on the lookout for something special for a single barrel release, and while decanting barrels for another project, she instantly knew 21C-137 was something special. She gave me a call straight away and said, ‘I think we’ve found the one’.”
Distilled in Melbourne in 2021, the whisky was aged in an American oak barrel. With only 261 individually numbered bottles capped at 58 per cent ABV, 21C-137 is NED Whisky’s strongest release yet.
Single Barrel 21C-137 is much different to NED’s core range which stands at 40 per cent on average. With aromas of treacle, vanilla essence, and brown sugar, a palate of cinnamon spices and caramel, with a firm and structured finish, the whisky showcases NED’s quality craftmanship.
“This single barrel is a unicorn, something we wanted to showcase and highlight. It would have gone beautifully at 44 per cent as a component of Green Sash, but we really wanted to show it off. We’ve bottled this at 58 per cent. It’s not pure cask strength but it’s close, and we really think it sings at this level,” said Fitzsimons.
“Our core range tops out at 50 per cent with the Grand Reward in tawny barrels, so this is a pure and raw example of what we get to taste and experience every day in the barrelhouse. There’s obviously price and scarcity implications when you bottle a single barrel – but for those whisky lovers, I’m excited to show off what I’ve been promising in many bar chats of recent years.”
The Vault Series will continue, as will the space for innovation and experimentation for NED Whisky in future cask blends. Fitzsimons said the inaugural release is only the beginning as NED continues to heighten blends and showcase quality products through special releases.
“There’s only one rule for Vault – exceptional. We’re starting with a single cask that’s very much in NED’s bourbon-style DNA, but we’ve experimented with small batches and barrel finishes in the past and so there’s no reason why that couldn’t show up in the future,” he said.
“I can’t tell you what the next Vault will look like because we don’t know. Part of the magic of whisky is that it tells you when it’s ready, not the other way around.” More information about NED’s Vault Series and the NED Vault Single Barrel 21C-137 are available here.