Hellyers Road 2003 Collection Foundations 21 yo

 

 

 

62,4°

Distillery : Hellyers Road - Australia

1st Fill American Oak Bourbon Barrel

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2024

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated  

It's one of the oldest bottlings to come out of Australia, and indeed the southern hemisphere. Hellyers Road is a distillery that has been operating in Tasmania since 1999, and is proud of its artisanal character. The fermentation takes 65 hours, and the distillation 72 hours, which is a long time. This cask was selected by La Maison du Whisky to be part of the Collection Foundations on the occasion of the Whisky Live Paris 2024, and filled just 150 bottles. The alcohol content is incredibly high for a 21-year-old whisky, so the environment must have been very dry.

Let's Taste It : 

Fruit paste, candied fruit, rose loukoum, there's a lovely explosion of fruit on the nose, but it remains very sweet, slightly citrusy, grapefruit, clementine, and even floral. At the same time, it's very cerealy and sandy, dried cereals in a desert climate, all coated with a good vanilla bean, almond paste, coconut crumbs and acacia honey. A zest of lime. On the palate, the noble wood is laid bare with ginger and vanilla custard, ripe peaches and mashed banana. Fine herbs, thyme, rosemary, parsley, a stick of liquorice and very well-integrated spices, nutmeg, saffron. The finish is powerful and long, hazelnuts, puffed rice and damp sand. The fruit becomes white, grape, mirabelle plum, and a return of almonds and ginger.

In Short, 

It's absolutely marvellous, and above all it's highly original, truly remarkable in its character and personality. The age adds great complexity, but in no way detracts from the liveliness of the flavours. For this reason, I think it's a little masterpiece in its own way, everything is very well done, there are no real faults even if the palate is slightly below the rest. The price is unfortunately very high, but it's a rare product, so you'll have to wait for a promotion.

Score : 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Troels Hammer - Botswana Girl