Twenty Third St Distillery Hybrid Whisk(e)y

Type: Hybrid whisk(e)y (a blend of Scotch whisky and bourbon whiskey) 

Origin: The Scotch whisky is from Scotland and the bourbon whiskey is from the United States. The whisk(e)y is bottled in Australia 

ABV: 42.3% 

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Twenty Third Street is a century old distillery in South Australia that has only recently been revived with a new team in 2016 after it ceased all production in 2002. 

Head Distiller Graham Buller has collected casks of Scotch whisky and American bourbon whiskey, blended them together, and then “finished” the blend of Scotch and bourbon in ex-bourbon barrels. Because this product is a marriage of Scotch and bourbon, it makes sense that it is “hybrid whisk(e)y”. 

The Scotch whisky used ‘has an average of five years barrel maturation’, while the bourbon used has an average of two years barrel maturation. 

Nose: Honey, caramel, nougat and citrus, with vanilla and chocolate flavoured milk powder, flashes of raisin cake, pineapple in syrup, and a foundation of grain. 

Taste: Luscious, sweet and buttery, this whisk(e)y has a base of powdery, husky and oily cereal and grain that supports flavours of panettone, dried fruit, vanilla, drying sherry, and rum soaked raisins with golden caramel, soft wood smoke and hints of cocoa and spices. 

Finish: Buttery, yet drying with a mild wood grip that leaves fading spices, light toasty notes, vanilla and, then, hints of sultana. A few minutes on, and I get Werther’s original.  

Overall: Youthful and rich in grain flavours, with oak adding layers of flavour to create a complex, tasty, and drinkable whisk(e)y.  Despite being made up of five year old Scotch and two year old bourbon, this whisk(e)y shows nicely developed sherry notes, dried fruit, vanillas, caramels, soft wood smoke and subtle char.  Just thinking of its buttery undertones makes me salivate.