Whisky Friends, Old and New #2!

Whisky: Limeburners Cask M74

 

Distillery/Brand:

Great Southern Distillery

 

Bottling:

Limeburners Cask M74

 

ABV:

61%

 

Colour:

Old Sauternes

Review:

So a Connosr member (WhiskyBaz) here in Perth recently informed me about a free whisky tasting being held in the area featuring one of my favorite distilleries, Great Southern Distillery or as I call them simple Limeburners.

As I'm always up for free whisky, especially whisky that I've never tried I was more then happy to go.

It didn't hurt that I'd recently finished my two favorite bottles of Limeburners, M31 and M66, and was looking for a new Limeburners to fall in love with.

Curse you single barrel whiskies, never to be repeated again god I love/hate you!

Sorry about that folks, when you finish some of those special bottles of whisky it's like losing an old friend.

Don't believe me? Tell that to the big readers (yes I am one of them) who grieve when they finish a favorite series of books. Or people who are sad when a favorite TV series is finished or pulled off the air.

Come on, admit it. You cried when Friends ended. We all know it.

Pardon folks it seems I'm feeling a wee bit goofy from lack of sleep.

Anyway I'd called some of my customers who I knew were whisky buffs, informed them of this free tasting and set off in search of a new whisky love.

I'd just finished my Limeburners M71 while talking to people left and right it felt like who knew me or knew of me through friends and customers of mine.

I finally got a chance to move onto the cask strength expression. This was one of the whiskies I was REALLY looking forward to, being a huge fan of cask strength whiskies.

This bad boy sits at 61% ABV which is a big step higher then the typical Limeburners 43% ABV.

I nose my glencairn and the first thing that hits my nose is loads and loads of citrus.

Massive.

Lime, lemon, just heaps of citrus. It almost kills the nose for me, but as I let the whisky breath it starts to open up. Pineapple pokes it's head up amongst all the different citrus notes (first time I got pineapple on a whisky that I can remember) and then honey and vanilla.

Definitely a beloved Limeburners whisky nose for me, but not as balanced as it could be.

I decide to take a sip from my glencairn.

Mmmmmm a lovely whisky burn fills my mouth with citrus and spices. Cinnamon, honey, hints of vanilla, lemon and other citrus notes, nutmeg, some cloves, lovely and extremely intense.

Long and intense spicy finish that lasts forever makes this the whisky that I fall for tonight. It's not the most balanced, and there's definitely room for improvement, but that 61% ABV definitely jumps this whisky several notches above the rest.

However that jump comes at a price of almost $120 to $150 AUS more per bottle.

Which makes a cask strength whisky from Limeburners run at roughly $250 to $300 each.

Ouch!

I don't mind spending that kind of money on a bottle of whisky as many people know, however this whisky, the M74, while good, is not $250 worth of good. I'd be ok spending $150 or so on it, but at $250 AUS I can purchase myself a Stagg, Weller, or Handy, the bad boys of Buffalo Trace and ALWAYS guaranteed to be a ride and a half.

However after my first taste of a cask strength from Limeburners I'll eagerly keep my eyes open for a more balanced bottle because this whisky definitely has some potential!


Nose:           22/25
Taste:         20/25
Finish:         23/25
Balance:      20/25

Overall:      85/100