We tried this batch of Black Gate’s Rum with Brian & Genise in store, and wow, what a batch. Despite not sitting at the regular, overproof strength normally seen from the distillery’s rum releases, this batch overperforms incredibly at 47.2%. Deeply aromatic, with elegant but complex fruity esters, and an impossibly well balanced influence from the Shiraz cask it was aged in, this is perhaps one of Genise’s best batches yet.
Located in Mendooran, not far from Dubbo in New South Wales’ Greater West, Black Gate have earned themselves cult status amongst drinkers with their single malt and rum expressions. The small town of about 300 people has a unique climate for whisky and wide temperature variations ensure lots of interaction between the whisky and the cask. That intensity is matched by Black Gate’s heavy spirits which is achieved by late spirits cuts. The inspiration comes from Brian and Genise Hollingworth’s penchant for big, smoky Scottish whiskies and Black Gate’s releases often find themselves on the heavier side of the Australian whisky spectrum.
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