Amber Lane Silk Road 2023 Australian Single Malt Whisky

Silk Road is back!  Following last years incredible release, which we were lucky to try in advance, Amber Lane have created a new batch following a similar recipe.  This small batch release focuses on cognac-style aging techniques, that founder Rod Berry picked up when travelling.

Official Tasting Notes:

Nose: Glorious and heady, with notes of brown sugar, cinnamon, pastries, mahogany and orange blossoms.

Taste: Beautifully balanced, with an interplay of spices and sugar, Raisons, mandarin, dried apricot, cinnamon, cardamom, white pepper, Big Red chewing gum, beeswax.

Finish: Long and moreish, with spice and honey.

What Amber Lane founder, Rod Berry, has to say about the release:

"The maturation process adopted in this expression reflects a new world distillery seeking to utilise techniques learned from the continent of Europe, in the style of Cognac production, where virgin oak notes are imparted immediately to the new make, followed by a more restful period of development in an older cask."

"The Silk Road formed an historical trade route between East and West that lasted over 3,000 years. Exotic spices from the East were traded along with various other luxury goods. The trade brought with it the exchange of ideas, leading to a rich fusion of cultural practices and ideas."

Amber Lane is a whisky distillery based in the Yarramalong Valley on NSW's Central Coast. It was founded in 2017 by two amateur astronomers and friends, Rod Berry and Phil Townsend. The duo have since committed themselves to crafting excellent spirit and spared no expense in sourcing top quality, large format ex-bourbon barrels (primarily sourced from Heaven Hill) and bodega ex-Pedro Ximenez casks. They took their time with maturation, waiting until the whisky was ready for bottling, rather than rushing to market after the minimum 2 years. 

Amber Lane's Ethics:

- Consistent high-quality mash bill that creates pleasing new make with an emphasis on the original barley together with a creamy sweetness;

- Double-distillation using a pot still designed to maximise copper-contact, thus producing more complex flavour chains;

- The very best seasoned barrels, sourced from premium producers of Spanish Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso Sherry and Kentucky Bourbon;

- Maximised ageing  to produce more complex flavour profiles, using larger barrels than many other Australian whisky producers (mainly 200-250L casks)

- Skilled blending of individual barrels to produce consistently delicious whisky; 

- Non-chill-filtration in all expressions to preserve as many of the flavour-producing esters and congeners as possible; and

- A conscious preference for releasing our whisky at higher alcohol strength.