Killara New Make Spirit

Tasted after a tour of Killara Distillery on August 10, 2024. This is the first whisky. Smell: Notes of cereal, white grape juice, gooseberries, and apples. A hint of malt. Taste: Predominantly fruity straight. When diluted, it develops cereal characteristics and becomes sweeter, revealing the malt. The consistency is pleasant. Aftertaste: Moderate in length. Fruity. Killara, a fairly new Tasmanian distillery founded in 2016 by a distiller who is the offspring of a well-known figure in Australian distilling. This marks the inaugural Australian distillery founded by a second-generation distiller. It's a modest-sized operation, also offering lodging and events. They utilize two locally crafted Tasmanian stills, both featuring somewhat unique designs. I was delighted that our tasting began with their unaged spirit; this is how it ought to be! It's light and fruity, and even at Killara's bottling strength (63.4%), it presented minimal alcohol burn. The texture was slightly stony when undiluted, but when brought down to about 40%, it achieved a wonderfully smooth mouthfeel and highlighted the cereal notes. A mild malt extract scent is present on the nose, and the palate shares a similar maltiness, but both are subdued, with no signs of sulfur or off-flavors. It's a very pure spirit, ranking as my second favorite Australian unaged spirit, behind another distillery. This spirit isn't available for individual purchase, so sampling it requires a trip to Tasmania – a truly arduous task, wouldn't you agree?:) "Excellent": 85/100 (4 stars)