The Big Black Cock Whiskey

Type: Single malt whiskey

Origin: Queensland, Australia 

ABV: 43% 

Mt Uncle Distillery is located near Cairns, in Australia’s tropical north Queensland. The distillery produces what in my opinion is one of Australia’s tastiest rums (Iridium Gold Rum), as well as gin, a marshmallow liqueur named Sexy Cat, and a whiskey named The Big Black Cock (“TBBC” for short). 

We visited the distillery in December 2016. 

Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room. The owner of Mt Uncle Distillery, Mark Watkins, tells me that he decided to name the whiskey “Big Black Cock” after being woken in the morning by roosters. Why, what were you thinking he named it after?  

TBBC whiskey is single malt that is made from Queensland barley.  The whiskey is aged for 5 years in hybrid American and French oak barrels.

The distillery is in a blisteringly hot part of the world, and it is surrounded by tropical heat (not to mention a few Alpacas!). If any distillery can claim that heat might impact the maturation of its whisky, Mt Uncle can. But, during our visit to the distillery Mark didn’t say anything about the heat. Mark honestly said on a tour of Mt Uncle that if the whiskey is aged for anything less than 5 years, the whiskey just ends up tasting “young” and “crappy” (his words). 

The quality of Mark’s spirits speak for themselves.

Having tasted TBBC at the distillery and in Melbourne, there does seem to be some variation from batch to batch; as you would expect in craft single barrel whiskey. 

At the distillery, TBBC tasted of citrus, vanilla, and loads of spice, but it was a little “woody” for my taste and a tad harsh. Another batch was sweeter, with more toffee, heavier dark caramels, flashes of dried fruit and subtle spice, and it made me want to catch the first flight back to Cairns!