OAK SERIES
oak
The ‘OAK’ Series is the first release in our flagship series. It is a celebration of the rich and complex characters that oak can impart to malt spirit during maturation. Featuring double maturation the first aging occurs in red wine French oak barrels sourced from regional Victoria followed by a second maturation in American oak bourbon barrels.
Batch #2
Released July 2024
Similar in aroma and taste to OAK Batch #1 with cinnamon, apple crumble and custard on the nose with chewy caramel and raspberry jellies on the palate the biggest difference with Batch #2 is all about mouthfeel. Since Batch #1 we have been tweaking our new make spirit in a multitude of ways to achieve a richer, bolder spirit and this is reflected in Batch #2 with a rich, jammy more velvety mouthfeel. OAK was always intended to be a bold expression, and now it has extra weight.
A marriage of 5 x 100L ex-Pinot Noir French Oak wine barrels sourced from Scotchman’s Hill winery these first fill barrels were re-sized from 225L French barriques, were heavily charred, then filled with Bellarine new make spirit at cask fill strengths of 56 -58% abv. The initial French oak maturation lasted two summers before the spirit was transferred to 200L American oak bourbon barrels for a further one summer. This gave a total maturation between 2 ½ to 3 years for the barrels used in this blend of single malts.
The wine has provided flavours of red berries whilst the French oak provides aromas of baking spices and pastries. The second maturation in American oak bourbon barrels softens and further sweetens the spirit with layers of vanilla and caramel.
Nose: Cinnamon, apple crumble and custard.
Palate: Chewy caramel fudge & raspberry jellies.
Finish: Melted honey & Christmas spice.
Batch #1 -
Released- October 2023
A marriage of 7 x100L ex-Pinot Noir French Oak wine barrels sourced from Scotchman’s Hill winery. These seven first fill barrels were re-sized from 225L French barriques and were heavily charred and filled with Bellarine new make spirit at cask fill strengths between 56 to 64% abv. The initial French oak maturation lasted two summers before the spirit was transferred to 200L American oak bourbon barrels for a further one to two summers depending on the barrel. This gave a total maturation between 2 to 4 years for the barrels used in this blend of single malts.
The wine has provided flavours of red berries whilst the French oak provides aromas of baking spices and pastries. The second maturation in American oak bourbon barrels softens and further sweetens the spirit with layers of vanilla and caramel.
Nose: Cinnamon, cherries, juniper, apple crumble and custard.
Palate: Chewy caramel fudge, pineapple & raspberry jellies, pink peppercorn.
Finish: Melted honey & Christmas spice.