Australia is on the rise as a whiskey producer, and the latest brand to enter the fray is Morris, which was officially launched in the U.S. last September — becoming only the third Aussie whiskey brand to be sold in the country. The goal of Morris: “to capture the provenance, climate, and terroir of Australia.” Here’s a little more info: Led by Head Distiller Darren Peck, who’s worked under the tutelage of one of the world’s most renowned whisky makers John McDougall (Springbank, Laphroaig, Balvenie, among others), Morris combines decades of tradition with modern techniques to craft a distin ..read more

Here’s a fun fact: The Gospel Straight Rye Whiskey is the first Australian whiskey that is legally labelled as “straight,” following the strict distillation and maturation rules required of American whiskeys. The whiskey is made form 100% unmalted rye grown on a single farm in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia, said to be one of the driest regions in the driest country in the world. We got a sample — love the antique-looking green bottle, by the way — and are happy to present some opinions. Let’s start with the nose, which is immediately very grassy — more rye than rye. There’s plen ..read more

Starward is an Australian malt barley whisky that has been inching its way into the U.S. markets over the past several years. (We reviewed a couple of their releases in 2019 and 2020.) Hailing from foodie-centric Melbourne, Starward sources the grains and supplies from local farms and merchants, along with the wine barrels used for aging from local vineyards. The latest expression is the inaugural American release from the new Starward Projects series. The single malt is aged in barrels from the Yalumba Winery’s luxe The Octavius Shiraz, with no age statement offered. Let’s take a peek. The n ..read more

Australian whisky brand Starward has been making slow inroads into the U.S. market, beginning with the Nova bottling we reviewed late last year. Now a second expression of Starward is here, Two-Fold, and it’s a unique whisky for any country. Two-Fold is named because it’s made with two separate whiskies, each distilled from a single grain: 60% is wheat whisky and 40% is made from malted barley. Both whiskies are distilled and fully matured separately in red wine barrels “from some of Australia’s leading wineries in the Yarra Valley” before being married together. Let’s give it a whirl. The no ..read more

Whiskey festivals come in all shapes and sizes, but WhiskyLIVE consistently produces a very approachable event for a fan at any stage in their whiskey obsession. There’s a good balance of offerings from industry heavy hitters and smaller craft outfits, as well as the occasional downright weird bottling. This year, I got to taste whiskey the way George Washington made it, but I somehow missed the 28-year-old Czech single malt (which I’m not sure I regret). There were no real standouts from our side of the pond this year (no duds really, either), but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed some o ..read more

With so many whiskeys out there to try, from distillers big and small, whiskey festivals can easily be overwhelming. WhiskyLIVE offers a good balance of options, showcasing industry heavy-hitters along with up-and-coming American (and several international) craft distillers. It’s small in comparison to events like WhiskyFest, in both attendance and vendors, so your options are a little more limited. The size, however, does remove some of the annoyance that can come with wading through crowds of people, many of whom are just looking for their piece of the only bottle of Pappy at the Buffa ..read more

Wet weather didn’t stop the masses from crowding onto the San Francisco Belle this year, a rite of passage for Bay Area whisky lovers attending the annual Whiskies of the World Expo. Lots of great stuff on tap this year, particularly from independent Scotch bottlers. Without further ado… Tasting Report: Whiskies of the World San Francisco 2014 Bourbon and American Whiskey Balcones Brimstone / B+ / made from smoked corn; intriguing but a lot like sitting porchside in Santa Fe Balcones Texas Single Malt / B / rough and tumble, fiery, with big grain character Black Saddle 12 Years Old Bourbon ..read more