Fleurieu 3 yo - Batch 2 (That Boutique-Y Whisky Company)

Volume: 0.5 litres | Alcohol content: 65% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

A former Apera cask and peated malt shape this release from Fleurieu Distillery. The whisky matured for three years in a cask named Mary Ann Watkins. Apera refers to Australian sherry-style wines. Casks previously used for these wines are a distinctive feature of Australian whisky maturation.

Batch 2 is part of That Boutique-y Whisky Company's Return to Oz collection, introduced in 2023. The cask yielded 428 bottles, and the whisky was bottled at its natural cask strength of 65%. It is non-chill filtered and contains no added colouring. The bottle holds 0.5 litres and comes with gift packaging.

The illustrated label recalls an unusual incident at the distillery site: a runaway steam train once crashed through the gates of the former railway shed. The drawing also features a dropbear riding along — a fictional, dangerous koala from Australian scary stories.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Sweet plums meet dark toffee and roasted nuts. Subtle hints of gentle smoke mingle with a sweetish, iodine-like peat note.
• Palate: Pronounced raisin and fig sweetness leads into salty malt with savoury umami notes. Sweet, smoky toffee and dried fruit accompany the flavours, with roasted nuts and spicy oak adding subtle accents.
• Finish: The finish remains sweet and spicy. Smoke lingers, slowly fading in intensity.

Distillery/Bottler:

Gareth and Angela Andrews run Fleurieu Distillery on the South Australian coast, around an hour's drive south of Adelaide. Their brewing experience informs their whisky production: they use different types of malt, including malts for British ales, and ferment with brewer's yeast for eight days. Their still design takes inspiration from Caol Ila, one of Gareth's favourite distilleries. The distillery occupies a former railway shed with old tracks still running through it; today, casks are stored on those tracks. The casks are named after family members or film characters.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company is an independent bottler that selects whiskies from distilleries around the world and also develops its own blends. Its range includes unusual releases that depart from a distillery's familiar style. The hand-drawn labels tell stories about the whisky, its origins or the people behind it. For Fleurieu Batch 2, the company selected a peated single malt from a former Apera cask.

Facts: