Drinks News

The new wave of whisky

New World whiskies are making a splash with unique flavours cooking in the barrel.

By Maggie Scardifield
A new wave of whisky
In your late-night rambles through Australia's whisky bars, you may have spotted bottles of Japanese White Oak or French Armorik dotting the shelves among the Bourbon and rye, the Irish blends, the Aberlour and Aberfeldy. "New World whiskies are an emerging trend that's been building in Australia for eight or so years," says Dave Withers, production manager at Sydney's Archie Rose Distilling Co.
While there's plenty to be said for the traditional drams from Scotland, Ireland and America, the innovative likes of Tasmania's cool-climate drops, Sweden's cherry-scented single malts and the cola-coloured releases from Taiwan are pushing the boundaries of style.
"The tried and true are more confined with what they can release," says Withers, "whereas newer distillers are borrowing from tradition to come up with interesting and unique visions of what whisky can be."
Countries with developing whisky cultures are more liberal with their regulations, which gives distillers greater freedom to experiment with colour, flavour and strength.
"It's about exploration," he says. "We're all interested in finding the next big thing."
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