Water of Life

Westward American Single Malt and Aerolite Lyndsay

Transitioning almost seamlessly from my recent tribute to the Kings of Punk, i.e. Poison Idea feature, we are going to stay in Portland, Oregon to shed light on a distillery that in terms of American Single Malt has been one of the domineering brands for the last twenty years, i.e. Westward Whiskey. 

I have heard many a enthusiast rave about Westward’s artisanal approach and unwillingness to compromise in terms of quality, with literally every facet of their operations being handled in a dedicated manner in-house with a focus on provenance, i.e. sourcing locally grown barley and ale yeast to then ferment it at a low temperature to produce an American Ale, which is then used as the source material to be distilled twice in their custom-made stills before maturation begins in their carefully curated and lightly charred American Oak barrels.

It was about time that I actually got to sample what kind of signature flavour profile the  avoidance of shortcuts and Westward’s craftmanship results in. 

Expectations were high, specifically given that I have just recently been spoiled by being able to sample the full range of Whiskey Hunt’s highly covered barrel picks.

Westward’s core expression tickles the nostrils upon approach with a delicate melange of syrupy, nutty and dark roasted coffee notes, which are accentuated by fruity highlights on the ripe banana end of the spectrum.

Silky in terms of mouthfeel, what materialises on the top of the mouth is a continuation of what the nose promised with caramel and dark nutty chocolate flavours becoming more dominant.

The medium length slightly floral finish rounds things out by meandering between toasted peanuts, cardamon and hazelnutty flavours counterpointed by a delicate bitterness reminiscent of strong coffee and the faintest hints of wood smoke and oaky sweetness.

Not bad, not bad at all. 

Needless to say, after ticking quite a few boxes with their core expression, I was intrigued as what was to expect from Westward Distillery’s celebration of Oregon’s much fabled about craft beer culture with them channelling their alchemy in a barrel exchange program, which sees Westward’s used barrels being infused with the characteristics of Stout.

In essence, Westward’s Stout Cask Finish is based on the aforementioned core expression before being aged for twelve months in Stout casks. 

The outcome takes Westward’s core expression to the next level with an refreshing avalanche of honeyed vanilla, citrus and spicy aromas. 

On the palate things culminate in a crescendo of brown sugary, malty highlights and milky chocolate, which transitions into the pleasantly elongated finish with peaches engaging in an interplay with orangey, hoppy and herbal notes, peaking with a bit of a nutmeggy, spicy kick. The perfect companion for any boilermaker.

Summa summarum, Westward delivers the goods and if you are remotely into American Whiskeys, you would be ill advised to not indulge in what their dedicated artisanal approach results in. Personally, I was specifically impressed by what they have achieved with their barrel exchange program, which as I understand it meant to become a staple in its core line-up,  and I look forward to their future expressions.

Aerolite Lyndsay

For anyone remotely following this series, it should not come as a surprise that I thoroughly enjoy exploring and discovering new aquae vitae variants, especially those of the peated and smoky persuasion emanating from the hallowed mossy bog grounds and particular topography of the remote and rugged little island known as Islay. 

While experiencing new whiskies that aid in expanding one’s horizon with merits that take what the respective region is known for to new heights, having the opportunity to experience characterful smoky whiskies from one of the nine Islay distilleries that I have not yet had the opportunity to try make me borderline giddy – even more so, when the focus is firmly put on authenticity and provenance. 

Enter Aerolite Lyndsay.

Chances are that if you come across Aerolite Lyndsay in the increasingly crowded Islay section of your local liquor outlet, it will instantenously catch your attention due to its attractive retro packaging and the intriguing name, which is not an easy feat these days given the way marketing heavily relies on embellishing legends of history and traditionalism and presenting it in an aesthetically pleasing manner to an ever evolving, savvy global audience.

The name Aerolite Lyndsay not merely captures one’s imagination and sounds suitably evocative but is in essence quite utilitarian as it is an anagram of ‘a ten year old islay’, with the presentation and name being deliberate as the idea is to not distract from the liquid with intricate marketing ploys.

Given the clever nomenclature, I was not surprised to learn that the bottler The Character of Islay Whisky Company is an imprint of Atom Brands, who are consistently pushing the envelope with That Boutique-y Whisky Company releases, with every facet of its releases being informed by a meticulous attention to detail and tongue firmly placed in cheek with their comic-style labels and the occasional easter egg to be found in its custom-made artwork illustrations. 

Composed of a blend of juice from an unnamed distillery that has been matured in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry Spanish oak and a small percentage of undisclosed casks and clocking in at 46% ABV, the aromas the nose is greeted with upon approach catapult one straight to the maritime, saline coastal environment that Islay is loved for, i.e. a melange of smoky peat, brine, bandage-sque antiseptic iodine with highlights of the lively tartness of green apples, liquorice and the faintest hint of a spicy paprika and fresh peppery kick. 

Nice.

What the nose promises is seamlessly unfolding on the top of the mouth: My receptors on the palate rejoice with glee as they greet the welcome mineral heavy, salty coastal and slightly tarry smokiness, which evolves further with syrupy and lemony highlights and is rounded out with dark chocolatey, roasted coffee nuances and a delicate tannic oakiness.

The finish, which results in a delicious crescendo of naturally sweet fruits, burnt toffee and a dominating woody phenolic peatiness,  could be a tad more complex and elongated for my taste, yet does its job as it leaves one lusting for another dram.

In essence, Aerolite Lyndsay is an expertly calibrated, charming tasty little number that expertly ticks a wide array of characteristics that make the aspects of a peated Islay whisky the immensely enjoyable exercise it is. 

I look forward to future releases from The Character of Islay Whisky Company and hope that with a future instalment of this series, we can finally cover That Boutique-y Whisky Company, as it has been in the making for the longest time.

The Formative Years – Brazilian Punk

I have always been intrigued by the culture of faraway countries and getting into punk as a prepubescent delinquent in the cold war era long before the advent of the internet has allowed me to communicate with people around the world, learn about their lives / cultural contexts and share our passion for rebellion and the common denominator that formed the ethos of punk rock no matter where you roamed. 

It was in the early 1990s that a pen pal from Sao Paulo sent a tape that would inoculate me with a deep appreciation for Brazilian punk. 

I vividly remember being exposed for the first time to Restos de Nada, Olho Seco, Cólera and the fantastic Ratos de Porão, which I not too long after managed to meet as part of one of their European tours.

The fact that most of the early Brazilian bands sang in Portuguese inspired me as it added not just an exotic appeal but an idiosyncratic trademark that made it unique as linguistically, the prosody of the language with its six dynamic tone patterns affecting the phrasing makes it a very powerful medium to convey your anger.

I started ordering records directly from the bands in Brazil and learned more about the origins of the movement. 

To this day an original tape compiled by Fabio of Olho Seco remains one of my favourite things in my collection and given his preferences and the bands he compiled on his mixtapes, it is not further wondrous that bands like Discharge and other UK bands became a major reference for the Brazilian scene – in the same way they were a major source of inspiration for the founding of Vegas later on.

When I started to collaborate with Ogirdor Zul to write songs for Vegas, it felt like things had come full circle as we almost instantaneously established a common understanding of where we wanted to take things sonically and the boundaries we wanted to push.

With our most recent album about to be released in Brazil, I could not be more excited and hope to be able to play there sooner than later.

Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Exit Brewing

If you are following this series attentively, you would be aware that we have covered Exit Brewing and their excellent IPA when they first hit the scene.

Now, given my weak spot for IPAs it was not further wondrous that given the quality and meticulous attention to detail and every facet of their operations when it comes to channelling their crafting alchemy, the slab I got did not last very long and ever since I harboured an Exit IPA shaped hole in my heart.

Needless to say, when I heard about Exit releasing a Double IPA it was high time to revisit how the family-owned, consistent brewery has evolved.

With Double IPAs some brewery rely on the credo that “more is more” by merely dialling all aspects of the flavour spectrum to eleven when it comes to hoppiness, which is fine with me.

However, it is when the finer nuances shine through that the expertise of the brewery shows itself, which is where Exit Brewing excels: 

In terms of hops, one is proffered an eclectic melange of Citra, Mosaic, Sorachi ace, Centennial and Chinook variants, which are calibrated in a manner so that not only individual characters are discernible, but to masterfully complement one another. 

Meandering the spectrum between resinous piney highlights, burnt toffee and an earthiness that is pervaded by orangey and citrussy flavours, it feels and tastes like a well-orchestrated party for the palate. 

The character of the bitterness is accentuated by Crystal and Munich malts, which counterpoint the aforementioned bold hop and sweet flavour components and serve as a stage to showcase them simultaneously.

Having enjoyed it as an accompaniment to a wee dram of Ardbeg’s Corrywreckan, I could not have asked for a more accomplished boilermaker combo and can only hope that this expression will become an integral part of Exit’s core portfolio.

A recent limited release is Exit's Red IPA, which manages to add an interesting facet to their offerings, not merely colour-wise but by being the borderline perfect tipple for the colder months of the year to sit by the fireside. 

As one would expect, the Red IPA has toffee and the solid foundation of maltiness come through in a more prominent manner, flanked by hop notes and a nice grainy sweetness. With a finish reverberating with both the fruity highlights and the grounding bitter notes, it proves to be dangerously moreish.

Let’s take a journey to Western Australia, shan’t we?

Whitelakes Brewing is a relatively new player on the Australian craft beer firmament that despite being highly decorated with accolades on both terra australis as well as international terrain, so far I have not yet had the pleasure of samples brews from. 

Word around the campfire has that the brewery setup is state of the art and quite extensive in scale, so I was looking forward as to what Whitelakes’ frothy emissions would be all about.

From a core range of seven brews, which seem to have accessibility as the common defining denominator, both in terms of ABV clocking in around the 5% mark as well as far as the style is concerned, i.e. mainly based around the Pilsner approach to beer making. 
Whitelakes’ approach seems to be informed by a mission to create sessionable brews rather than ones that hit you bullseye with novelty flavours and high alcohol content and I can attest that they accomplish what they set to do in terms of creating moreish beers that won’t punish you for having a second helping.

Whitelakes’ Extra Pale Lager proves to be an example par excellence for a well-calibrated beer with balance and drinkability at its core. 

While there are quite a few XPLs that are just overly reliant on hoppiness, Whitelakes’ adds orangey, peachy and biscuity highlights accentuate the malty aromas, which linger on the resinous side of things. 

While there is deliberate emphasis on the power of the hops, curbing there exuberance sharply with a distinct bitterness elevates the flavour profile into complex territory rather than curbing it.

Whitelakes’ Dark Lager is the yang to the XPL yin: Brewed in the tradition of a Teutonic Schwarzbier, we are entering a world defined by a smorgasbord nuanced maltiness.

As one would expect from a Lager from the darker realm, roasted coffee and chocolatey flavours dominate the scene without being overwhelming, resulting in a hearty yet refreshing brew that might look stouty yet eschews the heavy-handedness by infusing the malt flavours with citrussy and spearminty nuances.

Summa summarum, Whitelakes delivers the goods and it appears that  every flavour nuance is as carefully thought through as the presentation of their cans, their website and the merchandise range.

The Formative Years – Poison Idea

There are few bands that quintessentially represent the ethos of “punk as fuck” at the band that was formed in Oregon in 1980. Poison Idea took the essence of the holy trinity of bands like Discharge, Germs and Black Flag and infused it with their idiosyncratic spirit, which was largely fueled by singer Jerry A’s fantastic lyrics and the riffage maestro that was Pig Champion.

From their debut 7” Pick Your King via the Record Collectors are Pretentious Assholes 12” to the Kings of Punk LP in 1986, one would be hard pressed to detect a ditty that is not a hit. Towards the end of the 1980s, the band evolved past the confines of all-out attack hardcore blasts to incorporate more hard rock elements without ever running danger of losing impact like so many of their peers did once they strayed from the tried and tested path they started out on.

The evolution of Poison Idea culminated in the masterpiece known to posterity as the magnus opus Feel the Darkness from 1990. 

With the band living harder than their music would suggest, live performances resulted in exactly the debaucherous occurrences one would expect, including uncontrolled fire breathing in small venues and constituents of the band getting fat to the point of where they could only operate their instruments sitting down.

Their album Blank Blackout Vacant in 1992 was the highlight of their first and most significant incarnation, rounded out by We Must Burn before they split up for the first time in 1993.

The 2000s saw reformations with a reformed Jerry A remaining as the only original member still waving the flag of one of the greatest punk bands that ever roamed this earthround and a legacy that will never not reverberate in the pantheon of punk. 

Water of Life

The Gospel Straight Rye Whiskey and Chief’s Son Distillery

We must have covered more than fifty Australian distilleries as part of this series along with a wide range of whiskeys and approaches to distillation and maturation that have become idiosyncratic characteristics for local practises, however, claiming that terra australis is “nascent” when it comes to rye whiskies would be an understatement par excellence.

However, with the few whiskey distilleries championing American-influenced rye, I would make a case that they are on par with the best ones on international terrain and would be welcomed with open arms in the United States.

Enter the entity that has evolved from what started five years ago as Melbourne Moonshine, i.e. The Gospel Distillers.

We covered their whiskey debut right after release, i.e. their Solera Rye expression in 2019 and since then, they have further refined their approach and seem to have set their focus firmly and solely on rye.

With a focus on provenance, i.e. their unmalted rye being sourced from the local Murray Mallee and chosen for its compact flavourfullness and rye bread density, The Gospel’s rye expression is aged in two year old specifically coopered American oak barrels for an average of two and a half years following distillation in their custom-made six metre high column still within the confines of their largely self-built distillery, with the juice satisfying both Australian and American whiskey regulations.

The result is a lip smackingly good Straight Rye Whiskey, the oakyness of which tickles the nostrils upon approach along with aromas of freshly baked rye bread and brown sugary vanilla. 

On the top of the mouth things start out slightly acidic and bitter, before the DNA of the rye unfolds its magic nuanced by raisiny, cereally, savoury and grainy highlights and a spiciness that is amplified as it is counterpointed by a faint leathery backdrop. The lingering finish culminates in a crescendo of spices and ginger, which is rounded out by a delicate sweetness. 

While I unfortunately missed out on the first incarnation of their special release series under the moniker Gospel Projects, I can only hope that Gospel Distillers will confidently continue to stride on their progressive path and release a cask strength expression.

I’d imagine that the meticulous way they approach the selection of their casks and every facet of the production process, it will be pushing the boundaries of what is thought to be possible with grain bills and crowned with success not only because Australia is one of the biggest markets for rye and corn-based spirits, but because in the new world will embrace it lovingly as well.

Let the fifth gospel be the doctrine of rye...

Chief’s Son 

This feature of Chief’s Son Distillery has been in the making for the longest time. 

Having released its first commercial batch in 2016, I was first exposed to the distillery from the Mornington Peninsula through an Australian whiskey tasting event where there three and four year old single malts were proffered. 

The variety of Chief’s Son’s range intrigued me from the get go - not merely due to the variety of its range but because of the distinct complex flavour profiles, which are derived from experimentation with approaches to distillation, use of different malts and peat levels.

With this instalment I would like to zero in on Chief’s Son’s fantastic cask strength expressions, the 900 Standard variant of which has been matured for a minimum of three years in Seppeltsfield fortified wine casks, the use of which seems to be the only constant across Chief’s Son’s range with the odd exception.

What tickles the nostrils upon approach is a refreshing melange of fresh, sweet and slightly acrid hay, earthy ginseng and peppery sharp ginger, anethol and liquorice. 

On the top of the mouth, cinnamon unfolds its magic, flanked by the nuances that the nose promised, i.e. spicy ginger, bready and syrupy highlights, which culminate in an orangey crescendo. A beautifully balanced dram.

The cask strength version of the 900 Standard Pure Malt should delight anyone remotely into whiskies of the Speyside persuasion. On the nose there is vanilla, honey and rum, completed by a bouquet of nutty, earthy and toasty oak nuances. The palate is caressed by buttery, brown sugary overtones and backed by warming alcohol, accentuated by dried mangoes. As the name suggests, the elongated finish is dominated by a sweet and nutty maltiness, making this expression an indulgent cracker.

My favourite Chief’s Son expression has to be the 900 Sweet Peat. 

At cask strength, things are elevated to new heights with berry, cherry and plum aromas and the most subtle hint of delicious smokiness. On the palate this little number takes an interesting and unexpected detour into tart and earthy territory, before meandering between tropical fruits, tobacco and sweetly creamy flavours, which sit comfortably against a backdrop of peat.

The moreish finish leaves on smacking one’s lips with slightly floral juiciness and a solid smoky woodiness.

Another highlight of the Chief’s Son range is their most recent “Dark Russian” expression, which is an example par excellence for the distillery’s finely calibrated approach when it comes to infusing and accentuating their DNA by using the characteristics the use of new casks imbue. 

Imagine the aforementioned Standard variant but with a twist: Deliciously hoppy, slightly bitter rich malty flavours imbue this juice with an unrivalled level of depth.  

I cannot wait to taste Chief’s Son’s future emissions.

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images from company websites