The San Francisco International Spirits Competition is held annually and is considered the biggest and most prestigious of its kind. When a spirit wins the highest possible accolade, Double Gold Medal, at this competition, it makes people stand up and take notice. And that is what compelled me to track down this whisky on the internet. I had to purchase it from the UK and pay the necessary customs and taxes to get it into Australia, so it cost a pretty penny in the end, but wow – was it worth it! But the accolades don’t stop there, with the whisky also winning Whisky Magazine’s Craft Distiller of the Year award and also cleaning up at the Wizards of Whisky competition in London, where the single malt claimed World Whisky of the Year, World Single Malt of the Year and American Single Malt of the Year. For a complete list of awards won, take a look here.

The nose is complex, giving the immediate impression of freshly baked banana bread, plums and pear, with caramel, honey, vanilla, cedar and roasted chestnuts in support.

“The whiskey is really a bridge between the elegance of a single malt and the big, bold, rich flavors of a bourbon,” says Flavien Desoblin, owner and chief sommelier of The Brandy Library in Manhattan – and he’s not wrong. The palate is ester-y with apple and stonefruit characters and a strong flavour of brown sugar transforming into molasses. The finish is warm, with woody spices and some breadiness. A rich and moorish drop, that actually isn’t far removed, in terms of its flavour profiles, from a good brandy or rum – but in a totally great way.

Seek it out if you can. It’s well worth a try.