Kinglake Distillery Ogradys Single Malt 2018

Founded in 2018, Kinglake distillery was specially designed to take advantage of its bush setting. Sam Lowe & Chantal Daniels make whisky from scratch in their off-grid project using both local and imported barley and water from a mountain stream on the property. Rather than focussing on single cask releases, the couple are aiming to maintain a consistent line of the best malt they can make by vatting different barrels (typically small-format ex-bourbon barrels re-coopered in Australia). We tasted the cask strength bottling and this. What's impressive in both is the purity and balance. The aroma is a near faultless co-mingling of dark chocolate and pristine barley, repeating on the palate where a touch of fruit and grassy freshness gives way to oily peat at the finish. While not especially complex, it's assured, precocious whisky and worth seeking out.