Killara Black Velvet Stout Finish Single Malt

Tasted after a tour at Killara Distillery on August 10, 2024. Whisky #3. Smell: Very concentrated with abundant dark malt, fig jam, date syrup, dried apple, and treacle. The aroma is substantial, and while the notes present are good, it lacks depth. Adding water evened out the scents but introduced no new elements. Taste: A significant arrival featuring dark caramel, chocolate, and dried fruits (apple, apricot, pear, date, fig, cherry). It resembles a dish of mixed dried fruits rehydrated with Belgian Trappist ale and enhanced with honey. The consistency is dense and creamy, yet it also possesses a lively quality. Similar to the smell, dilution doesn't uncover additional tastes but does harmonize and balance the existing ones. Aftertaste: Moderate. Notes of ale malt, chocolate, honey, fruit, and spice linger. This spirit underwent initial maturation in an unmarked barrel for two years before being transferred to an ex-sparkling wine cask from Clover Hill winery in Tasmania. It remained in this cask for four weeks, then was returned to its original barrel. Meanwhile, the sparkling wine cask was sent to Iron House Brewery and filled with a black milk stout (similar to Guinness) for eight weeks. The "finished" stout was then bottled, and the still-damp cask was returned to Killara to be refilled with the whisky. After eight weeks, the whisky was bottled at 55% alcohol by volume, with 135 bottles produced. It's an intriguing dram and an interesting experiment, but the elaborate cask transfers made it more of a novelty than a captivating beverage. This whisky has an odd, listless quality; it has a huge presence, but the wall of aromas and flavors experienced in the first few seconds is all it offers. There's no development and a surprisingly short length. Water has little effect, but I did prefer it with a small addition, as it had a noticeable alcoholic "bite" when neat, which the water removed. "Above Average": 82/100 (3.25 stars)