It’s really hard keeping track of all the new world whisky distilleries out there,there are so many and so many are popping everywhere, Australia, Europe,India,South Africa, you name it, someone is building one at this moment. This is really cool. I never heard about Limeburnes distillery down under until my whisky mate Andrew (@ardbaggie) who was named their Brand ambassador in the UK was kind enough to send over 3 samples of their whiskies to a few friends / bloggers (including me). I did a bit of reading about them and it seems they have been distilling for a few years now (under the name of the Great southern distilling company), making not only whisky but also vodka,Grappa and Gin. Their whisky brand is called Limeburners. Located in South Western Australia (Albany). The distillery was founded in 2004 by Cameron Syme , who worked as an accountant some years before deciding to pursue his passion and create the distillery (his family has Scottish roots and a history of distilling back in Scotland). He is currently a foundation member and Deputy Chairman of the Australian Distiller’s Association and is a principal of Latro Lawyers. Cameron and his family moved to Albany in 2005 to take advantage of the ideal distilling conditions and have enjoyed becoming part of the local community. Interesting stuff…
Check out this cool movie before we dive in.
Limeburners cask M76 , 43% abv
Matured in 100 liter American ex-bourbon casks and finished in very old Australian port casks barreled on the 03/04/2009 and bottled on the 19/12/2012.
Nose: Red fruit and gummy bears. Vanilla and caramel with a slight sour note and sawdust.
Palate: Sweet dried fruit, sugar and macerated cherries. Vanilla coconut and pine / mint. Spicy.
Finish: sugar mint and bitter wood.
This is indeed a young whisky, and surely it does taste a bit different. It’s not your average scotch mind you, not sure if to attribute this to the age, or distilling method. Interesting stuff, and not bad , but could use some more refining.
Score: 75/100
Limeburners cask M61 , 60.0% , £165
This whisky was matured in 100 liter American ex-bourbon casks and finished in very old Australian port casks barreled on the 30/09/2008 and bottled on the 12/09/2013 (almost 5 yo).
Nose: really sweet and thick prune juice kind of nose with a hint of smoke ( I know it’s not peated but I swear I can detect the slightest note of sweet BBQ smoke. BBQ meat marinade. Toffee. Sugar. Meaty stuff. Wow!
Palate: big mouth feel. Lots of plum jam and a touch of mint! Chilly and Demerara sugar. Very sweet and spicy.
Finish: sweet sugary and toffee with the plum compote going along way.
Wow. this is a major step forward, and a truly delicious whisky. Really something I’d love to get if it were a bit cheaper, frankly the price is way too high for such a young spirit as limited as it is.
Score: 85/100
Lovely drams, will keep an eye on this distillery. One more expression of theirs to try. watch this space as they say 😉