Archie Rose Whisky Blending Tour!!!

Champions, we decided to have a Sunday away from the workshop and try out the whisky  blending session at Archie Rose in Sydney.

We rocked up a little early and tried one of their boilermaker combos, featuring Akasha Hopsmith IPA (Five Dock NSW, 375mL, 6.8%) and Archie Rose's Smoked Heritage Rye Malt, coming in at 49%.

We then moseyed on in to the old distillery (they have since moved most production operations to a nearby much larger facility) and settled in for the history and blending session education!

Our host had worked for Archie Rose for 10+ years and clearly has a passion for the trade. He broke down the process and helped us understand where the different tastes and characters come from. We used the example malts to recognise a lot of signature flavours of other brands, and it demystified how they achieved those character, good and bad (in my opinion, of course!).

The blending process bascially involved mixing small amounts of base malts, then tasting the results (Don't mind if I do!), then once a good balance was established, commiting to the 100mL level in the same ration. We got to take home a pair of 200mL bottles of our final 100mL blends, topped up with a neutral malt.

I've not had a bad drop from this distillery, and their pricing tends to be a lot more accessible while having several approachable options for newcoming whisky fans.
Some Australian whisky brands are very sharp in taste (in an unpleaseant way, in my opinion) and very overpriced. But be sure to check out these legends offerings. I reckon you won't be disappointed.

Be sure to leave a comment if you've tried the products from these legends and what your thoughts on them are, and thanks for reading, you bloody legends!