Fig

Lark Single Malt

Lark Single Malt

The island of Tasmania has a history of whisky making yet there was a 150 year gap because of old 19th century laws that went unchallenged until Bill Lark founded Lark Distillery in 1992. Since then, Lark has been producing whisky and liqueurs. The distillery was the first in Australia to become carbon neutral in 2021 and while originally started in the Tasmanian capital, Hobart, production has recently moved to a new distillery in nearby Pontville. Before their portfolio expanded, the American market would only receive limited single barrel expressions, such as this Lark Single Malt bottled at 86 proof. Other expressions are different individual barrels at slightly differing proofages but remain the same base spirit. This particular barrel was aged in a small cask that formerly held Australian port.

Stranahan’s Sherry Cask

Stranahan’s Sherry Cask

Stranahan’s Distillery was one of the first American single malts on the market in early 2000s, with their first bottle being released in 2006. One of the things American whiskies like bourbon were long not allowed to do because of regulation and tradition was something scotch had begun pioneering in the early 1980s, wood finishing. Not bound by the regulations of bourbons or ryes, American single malts like Stranahan’s are able to push the boundaries in creative ways their whiskey relatives were unable to for many years (though this has recently begun changing). The Stranahan’s Sherry Cask is a single malt aged for four years in virgin white American oak barrels and then finished in 500-liter ex-Oloroso sherry casks from the Andalusia region in Spain.

Tamdhu 15 Year

Tamdhu 15 Year

Tamdhu distillery was founded in 1896 in the Speyside village of Knockando, Scotland. Much of the next century passed without note, including some periods of dormancy related to war and supply shut off, and it wasn’t until the 1970s that more investments were made to increase production output. It is the last distillery in Scotland to use a Saladin box in production. Currently able to produce 4.5 million liters a year, most of the Tamdhu spirit is used in blended scotches like The Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark. However, some single malts do escape. This Tamdhu 15 is, like all their single malts, completely matured in ex-sherry casks.