Boutique-y Bakery Hill 5-Year-Old Batch 1

The batch one release from Australia's Bakery Hill distillery, bottled by Scotland's That Boutique-y Whisky Company.

This Batch 1 is part of the independent bottler's inaugural Australia series, which features eight whiskies from downunder distilleries, released in April 2021.

A peated whisky matured in ex-bourbon cask, we've never seen Bakery Hill in the hands of an indie before. 

390 bottles in the release, approximately half of that allocated to Australia. 

The whisky has since been reviewed by Luke McCarthy at Oz Whisky Review as part of his look at the series - giving it 88 points, second highest in the series behind only the Fleurieu.

He wrote: "Again, lovely balance of citrus, sweetness and smoke. Creamy and malty, and picks up some herbal oakiness as it moves along and the cask exerts its influence. Peat is so well integrated here."

TBWC's take on this Bakery Hill: 

"A smoky, peated, ex-bourbon cask, single malt from mainland Australia’s oldest whisky distillery. "Founded in 1999, Bakery Hill Distillery is run by ex-High School chemistry teacher David and his son Andrew. Family run, small batch, with a focus on quality over quantity. It was established to prove a point - that great single malt whiskies could be made outside of Scotland, and specifically in Australia. "Bakery Hill buck the trend of many wine-cask driven Australian whiskies, favouring predominantly ex-bourbon barrels. These allow for a longer maturation, without the spirit becoming overwhelmed by the hot temperatures and cask influence."

Nose: Sweet,creamy peat. A little medicinal with green banana.

Palate: Heading towards Islay, rich but light mouthfeel and sweet peat again. Really well made spirit.

Oak Barrel comments from a preview tasting of the series: 

Now this is a treat and probably our most anticipated to try. Idoine and clean smoke on the nose, almost Caol Ila-esque from the first pass but gets more grounded after that. The palate is very pleasant, beautifully integrated. Up there with our favourites of the series.

TBWC on the label:

"An ex-high school chemistry teacher turned distiller gave us the perfect opportunity to get a Breaking Bad theme to this label. 

"We’ve set the scene in the Australian outback, and the Winnabago is full of casks. Founder David Baker has a spirit thief in his hand, and son Andrew is in the hazmat suit. 

"Andrew seems to be stamping on an old miner’s licence. It’s a historical reference to the Eureka Stockade in 1854 in a place called Bakery Hill.

"Spoiler alert, the whisky isn’t blue…"

One of Scotland’s most prolific independent bottlers, Boutique-y share an ethos with The Oak Barrel that whisky is meant to be drunk, whisky is meant to be fun. Known for their bright labels and excellent juice, they have bottled most distilleries in Scotland and are increasingly expanding to include whiskies from around the world – which is where this series of Australian whiskies fits in.

Their limited-edition labels are designed by Emily Chappell and reference interesting elements (or in-jokes) about the distillery. Their batches, which can be single casks or married from a number of casks, are bottled at the strength they deem the whisky is most enjoyable at.