Posted on August 8 2022, Drinks Digest
By ALANA HOUSE
Morris Whisky has unveiled its most premium offering yet – a limited-edition Smoked Muscat Whisky.
The new release showcases three unique elements: Morris Australian single malt whisky, heavily-charred oak and award-winning fortified Muscat barrels.
Born from a collaboration between Morris’ Head Distiller and Head Cooper, the distiller said the resulting whisky pushed the boundaries of cask innovation, with its marriage of dry-biscuit maltiness, rich luscious raisin fruits, soft wood-aged characters and a lingering smokiness.
Head Distiller Darren Peck said: “Our whiskies will always reflect the award-winning Morris fortified barrels they are finished in, but we have been excited to look at how we can be inspired by cask innovation. Here at Morris, we really appreciate heavily smoked whiskies, but also know this isn’t for everyone, so experimented with these distinctive flavour profiles to create something special that our Morris fans will love.
“By exploring the depths of the barrel charring process our aim was to create a mature single malt that could carry the complexity of heavily charred oak flavours from barrel to the bottle.
“We then wanted to see if and how these flavours could best compliment the luscious intensity of our aged Muscat, conducting countless finishing trials to find the perfect marriage of these two distinctive flavour profiles. We believe the unique ‘Smokey Fortified’ finish is like no other and truly pushes the boundaries of what can be achieved via cask innovation.
”The Smoked Muscat Whisky is still quintessentially Morris, while showcasing distinct craftsmanship in a new way. The Australian Single Malt Smoked Muscat Whisky joins the duo of exceptional Morris Whiskies launched last year; the Signature and Muscat Barrel Whisky.”
The limited edition Morris Australian Single Malt Smoked Muscat Whisky (48.3%ABV) has only been produced in limited numbers, and is available at $189RRP on morriswhisky.com and selected retailers coming soon.