Heartwood The Toddler

A whisky from Tasmanian independent bottler Heartwood who, in my somewhat limited experience, have a very good track record with their bottlings. I tried a wee sip of this amongst some other Heartwoods at a tasting the other day but, knowing that I had a sample waiting at home, I thought I'd wait until I had a proper chance to taste before writing up notes. My impressions are largely the same, though, I think.

This is a 4 year old heavily peated whisky from Lark, distilled in 2012 and matured in a sherry barrel.


Heartwood The Toddler 63.1%

Nose: Heat, peanuts, peanut skins, vanilla. Something spicy lurking behind the vanilla too – clove maybe? After a little while some white peach emerges too. Nice. Water seems to draw out the faintest hint of sweet cigar smoke.

Palate: Sweet almost medicinal arrival. Viscous and thick on entry with red fruits and herbal cough syrup before the alcohol burn turns up to shut things down a little. The addition of water allows that herbal element to further emerge – licorice, thyme and gum leaf.

Finish: Very long. Red fruits, syrup and watermelon. Water broadens the finish – it’s now less sweet with the aniseed and spice more dominant.

Awesome young whisky. Complex and extremely well balanced, with that nutty Lark peat holding things together but never domnating.

Thanks to Jamie for the sample!