Hillwood Peated Sherry Cask - Cask Strength - Drams by Dre

Hillwood Peated Sherry Cask – Cask Strength

Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky

The Distillery

Hillwood Whisky is located in the Tamar Valley in Tasmania, Australia.

Hillwood is a contemporary Australian whisky. Made in the tradition of Scottish single malt, but given a distinctive edge from the wild Tasmanian landscape and our artisanal family approach. Single malt, single cask, small batch is their philosophy with whisky. From grain to glass, their releases are 100% made by hand.

Hidden in a unique micro valley on the banks of the Tamar River, Tamar Valley Distillery offers a rare kind of serenity perfect for sleeping barrels to age. No rush, just time. A haven of privacy and seclusion where you can hear the wind in the trees and simply forget about the rest of the world.

This bottle was from Cask No.70 and the release was limited to 60 hand signed bottles. This batch won best Australian Single Cask, Single Malt Whisky (12 years and under) at the 2022 World Whiskies Awards.

The Region

Tasmania, Australia

The Whisky Review

60.5%
ABV
NAS
Age
French Oak Sherry Cask
Cask Type
Non Chill Filtered
Chill Filtration

Nose 5/5

Sweet smoke, peaches and cream, strawberry syrup, cherry wood, bbq pork bark, biscuity, malty, clove, vanilla, toffee apple, oak, plums and fruit tart. An incredibly complex nose that evolves so much over time as it opens.

Palate 4.6/5

Charcoal smoked meat, red apples, muffins, baking spices, dark chocolate, red berries, malt, toffee and cinnamon doughnuts. Explosive and flavour packed palate. Add a few drops of water to bring out some of these flavour notes.

Finish 4.8/5

Incredibly satisfying finish. Doughy bread and cookie dough are followed by soft smoke, sticky sweetness and red apples. Charred oak, malt and toffee biscuits with a hint of herbs round out this long and balanced finish.

The Verdict

Unbelievable whisky. One of my favourites across my collection and i’m glad i stumbled across these guys and tried this whisky before the 2022 World Whisky Awards, because i got the bottle for a great price!

I wrote the notes for my review before the awards but have only had time to upload the review now so i’ve added in recent events.

An incredible and complex nose that evolves dramatically over time and with water leads into an explosive and flavour packed palate that once more improves with some water. The finish caps of this superb whisky with a satisfying and balanced finish of biscuits, fruit and smoke.

Complex and intense describes this whisky perfectly, at every stage it is jam packed with flavour and intensity and the addition of water unlocks so many extra notes. This was my first Hillwood whisky and i’ve since grabbed a bottle of the Peated Merlot (yet to open!), i will definitely be keeping an eye on their future releases after tasting this behemoth of a whisky.

The Price

Retailing at $250 AUD, i grabbed this one on special for $220 from Distinct Whiskies. However the RRP for this one in particular may go up with the recent award (as they all do).

Available at: