Nose: Initially the aroma is dominated by dried fruits (apricots), candied ginger, peanut brittle and biscuits. Once the whisky warms in the glass it opens up with more floral and fruit elements - think honey dew melon. This adds a nice level of complexity to the whisky.

Palate: The palate is surprisingly savoury with fruit mince pies, spices and nuts, filling out a nice round mouth fill. These flavours give way to a nice boozy orange flavour that draws nicely in to the finish.

Finish: A long warm finish with plenty of star anise and bitter orange.

This release is our first botrytis cask release, and our last for a while as these were the only botrytis casks in our bond store.

Botrytis is a form of mould (often referred to as noble rot) that forms on the outside of grapes. At the right levels (and in the right weather) this botrytis mould draws moisture from the grape leaving behind a sweeter more complex flavour for the winemaker. These grapes are usually used for making sweet white wines such as the famous wines from Sauternes. Here in Australia, we usually simply refer to these wines as botrytis and classify them as ‘dessert wine’, it is the casks from one of these wines that has been used to mature this month’s whisky club release.