Rare Whisky Evening with Dan Woolley
Amongst the madness of Dark Mofo we managed to fill the Lead Light Room at Hadleys on Friday 22nd of June with a bunch of whisky lovers.
Dan Woolley Australia's biggest whisky fan and Laphroaig National Brand Ambassador presented some extremely rare whiskies. Dan regaled us with his interesting history before guiding us through the night's drams.
"The Chita" is Suntory's newest release, designed to appease the growing worldwide appetite for Japanese whisky. It was really well received and sold out after the tasting. It was the 2 following whiskies that most had gathered for and they didn't disappoint, the evenings highest vote count going to the Yamazaki 18 and second to the Hakushu 18. Personally I loved the nose of the Yamazaki 18 over the Hakushu 18 but the latter's palate and finish were the night's winner in my opinion. The last two drams of the evening were the smokey Islay offerings, firstly Dan's favorite the Laphroaig 25 with the peat lovers in the room raising this as their favourite and consequently it got bronze for the night. Then we had the funky Bowmore Vault edition No.1 which is a fascinating drop altogether as the warehouse it is matured in is the oldest in the world. Dan recommends having this with a really mature cheddar as it pairs well with the dank salty layers of the whisky.
A great evenings education paired with banter and liquid gold. It's not hard to see why the Japanese whiskies are getting so much more expensive as the whisky world consumes it faster than it's being produced.
Cheers, Jason.
