07/07/2024
Selection by Stuart 2024
Name : Morris Australian 🇦🇺 Single Malt, Muscat Barrel Finished
Age: Unspecified
Style : Single Malt
Region : Australia Rutherglen Vic
Notes
- [ ] Nose: The resting glass exudes a decadent sweetness that can be smelled from some distance away. Upon lifting the liquid to meet my nose, I find a potent, oily richness I'm well accustomed to in Irish whiskeys. It presents like a rich flan, impossibly creamy in the nose. After a long rest, I begin to explore the full depths of the glass; the sweet honey-butter aromas that roll out are magnificent. A slice of classic coffee cake sits upon a white napkin. Smelling further gives me the impression of stonework and fenestrations in the mind's eye, taking me to the older sections of London I've visited. It's a distinct malt, as to be expected from a malt, which challenges the observer much deeper than more impressionable spirits. As I struggle to wrestle with the ephemeral, I am urged to take a sip.
Returning the glass to my nose after a few savored sips shows off a sweet air that swirls in the light summer breeze of a grassy knoll. This comfortable location feels a little ways inland from the ocean, but it is still close enough to have a touch of salt in the air. An arrangement of rocks forms a seldom-used fire pit that encircles the little liquid left in the glass. The empty glencairn smells of delicate moss and charcoal pencils.
- [ ] Palate: My first taste of Morris reveals eye-widening buttered popcorn and distinct grilled pita bread. Savory tomato tones bubble up alongside hints of mozzarella and basil, which, in conjunction with some of the tones from the nose, is suggestive of enjoying a well-made pizza at an outdoor restaurant somewhere in Europe. As I've woefully never been to Australia, I wonder how much of this is some local terroir playing a role in the final character of the whisky. Continued visitations to the oily depths show off fluffy King's Hawaiian rolls, oatmilk, and buttercream frosting. Overall, this is a balanced, buttery whisky that lands with delicate grace on the tongue. One of my favorite parts of this whisky is the mouthfeel and viscosity. My last sip makes my tongue say to my brain, "This is a great malt," before a wave of honey-butter and popcorn once again swirls in a sweet dance. This finish is on the shorter end, but the lingering mouth coating of butterscotch and milk chocolate more than makes up for that.
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