Our Taste Test series follows the golden thread of Aussie single malt to Timboon Railway Shed Distillery in Victoria, where we try their flagship Port Expression whisky.
About Timboon Railway Shed Distillery
On the south coast of Victoria, not far from the iconic Twelve Apostles, Timboon Railway Shed Distillery is the latest chapter of the area’s 140-year-old story of whisky making.
Located at the end of the line (or perhaps the beginning) of the historic Timboon rail track that's almost as old as its whisky heritage, Timboon Distillery creates superbly smooth Australian single malt.
Head distiller and owner Josh Walker crafts his whisky from two beautiful copper stills within the walls of the original 1890s railway shed, refurbished to house the tasting room, restaurant and cellar door too.
About the bottle
Timboon's stout, satisfyingly heavy 500ml bottles have the old-school appeal that not only speaks of the distillery’s history, but also of the traditional methods Josh uses to craft the whisky.
On the back of each bottle, the painstakingly hand-written label describes the day the whisky was made, when it was bottled, what cask it was aged in and its ABV.
For the brief time it’s full, this bottle gleams golden with the rich, elegant spirit it holds.
Grain and barrel
Josh uses barley grown near Grafton, NSW to make his single malts - though he has planted his own crop to make Timboon a paddock-to-bottle distillery.
This Port Expression whisky has been aged in heavily charred ex-port barrels for at least three years, which brings so many incredible flavours and tones into play.
Tasting notes
Timboon Distillery's Port Expression Single Malt gives you aromas of apple and sweet cherry, which draw you in for a first sip that’s velvet smooth, bold yet delicate.
You taste red berries, honey and vanilla at the start along with a dark chocolate tang. The long tails come with caramel, toffee and toasted wood, and leave you with a kind of buttery warmth.
Serving suggestion
Treat this the way you would any ultra-premium single malt whisky - with reverence and care, but also joy.
Served up, this whisky offers clean, smooth flavours, the slightly elevated ABV of 44% merely adds more to the malt rather than heating it up.
Adding a drop of water or two opens up the oils and elevates a lot of those fruit notes and earthy flavours to this whisky.
But in an old fashioned, judicious use of bitters adds an interesting herbaceous element too.