Black Gate BG047 Australian Single Malt

Nose (neat): Dark malt, amber ale, dark fruit cake and rich oak wood but everything is veiled by an intense alcohol aroma, which is not surprising. This is so sharp on the nose when neat that it is difficult to penetrate. Nose (reduced): Water knocks the edge off the alcohol nip but this is a surprisingly easy whisky to drown, so don’t add too much. It also needs some time to recompose and integrate after dilution. Everything from the neat nose is still on display but there are added sweet fruity aromas, the sherry cask is more obvious and overall the whisky becomes much more approachable. Palate (neat): Sweet, full-bodied oak, stewed fruits and enormous sherry but again the high alcohol level makes it difficult to access. The neat texture is, however, sublimely oily and intense. Palate (reduced): Adding water transforms the whisky with soft, sweet fruity flavours coming forward as the hefty malt backs away. The cask influence is also now more subtle and the texture becomes creamy and silken. Finish: Medium/Short. The finish is surprisingly abbreviated when neat as the alcohol tingle overtakes any subtle nuance. Adding water lengthens the finish with mild ginger and white pepper appearing in the aftertaste. This whisky was distilled in April 2016 and bottled in June 2021. Maturation was entirely in an ex-apera (Australian sherry) cask of probably 100 litres capacity, and just 120 bottles were produced. My bottle is number 79. It is a massive sherry-beast when neat and although a brief nosing and taste of its naked form is justified it is impossible to truly evaluate without reduction. Water should be added drop-by-drop until the sweet spot is hit. When you get there you will become aware of a gentle smoky note which is coming from the still, and not from any sort of peating. Black Gate is a tiny hidden gem of a distillery with a very small output and each release is quickly snapped up by enthusiasts. The still is directly fired by a gas burner and they typically mature in small ex-sherry casks. Together this produces whisky that is reminiscent of Glenfarclas, and this expression in particular is quite similar to Glenfarclas 105. “Very Good” : 87/100 (4.25 stars)