Whether you take it Highlands, Lowlands, Islay or islands-style, there’s plenty to love about Scotch… Scotchy, Scotch, Scotch. But what if you wanted a little more punch in your peat? A bit more malt in your mash? Or what if you don’t know what that means? Maybe you want to switch it up for something local, something more affordable or just something different. The Switch is here to help, this time with whisky expert and cocktail genius Cara Devine of Goodwater, serving up Switch options for whichever way you like your Scotch.
Hey Cara, if I like my whisky in cocktails, what should I be reaching for?
While I would definitely never say not to use a single malt in a cocktail if you want to (treat yourself!), most cocktail recipes call for a blended whisky – this is malt whisky blended with grain whisky, which makes it a bit lighter in body and flavour and therefore easier to balance alongside other flavours in a mixed drink.
Starward is one of the larger whisky distilleries in Australia, and the most awarded one, and their Two-Fold is designed to take on the Scottish blends. A blend of malt whisky and wheat whisky, it’s aged in red wine barrels (the Starward hallmark) which gives lots of juicy red fruit and spice, while still being very approachable. Try it in a New York Sour and thank me later.
There’s a lot to love about the sweetness and classic Christmassy notes of Speyside-style whiskies. What are our options out there?
Speyside whiskies are often a bit of a gateway whisky for people as they are generally unpeated and elegant making for a smooth drinking experience. They also often use sherry barrels for maturation which gives a lovely sweet, Christmassy spice which is deliciously moreish, similar to, say, a Glenfiddich 12, which uses a portion of oloroso sherry casks. Unfortunately not as many people are drinking sherry these days so in Scotland we’re seeing a lot more ex-bourbon and other cask finishes (which is not necessarily a bad thing, just a different style).
Luckily in Australia we still love our ‘stickies’ and Morris has been making fortified wines in Rutherglen for over 150 years so you can bet they have some pretty awesome casks lying around – it’s great they’re now using them to age whisky. Their Muscat cask starts life in French and American ex-wine casks so you get a lot of the vanilla and fruit notes associated with Speyside, and they finish it off in their Muscat casks which layers in that rich, spicy sweetness. An excellent switch.
And how about if we want to dial things up a notch? Say, something with a bit of grunt or peat to it?
Peat can be a bit divisive but once you’re converted you won’t go back. Kinglake Distillery is an off-grid distillery near Kinglake national park and they do things the old school way – they use water from the spring-fed lake on the property, and good water makes good whisky. They also do open door distilling, allowing natural yeasts and pollen into the fermentation process providing a really unique drinking experience with lots of texture in the final whisky – reminiscent of bigger, bolder Scotches from the islands.
Their O’Grady’s malt has a mash bill of four different malts, one of which is a toasty chocolate malt which has been heavily roasted to add depth and complexity, and another is a heavily peated malt which they bring over from Scotland which adds that savoury, smoky edge. It’s a beautifully balanced whisky which would keep any Scotch drinker happy.
Make The Switch today, and check out episode one of The Switch featuring Cara Devine here.