The Australian single malt that spent seven years in red wine casks

Watkins Single Malt was matured for seven years in French oak barriques that had previously held red wine, then finished in American oak. That one decision, made years before anybody tasted the result, is what the whisky is built on.

Queensland barley, Tablelands water

It starts with locally grown Queensland barley and pure spring water from the Atherton Tablelands, and it is made at Mt Uncle Distillery in Walkamin. Watkins Whisky Co. carries the name of Mark Watkins, our founder and head distiller, and his signature sits on the side of the label.

Seven years in casks that held red wine

The primary maturation is the interesting part. French oak barriques, previously filled with red wine, for seven years. The dried fruit and the toasted oak in the glass come from those barrels, and so does the gentle tannin underneath the sweetness. It is a structure you notice most when the whisky is warm in the hand.

Then American oak, to finish

After the barriques it went into American oak to build depth and structure. Seven tropical years and two kinds of wood are what give it the rich amber colour it pours at.

Time behaves differently up here, which is a subject in its own right. There is a separate piece on what the tropics do to a barrel if you want the detail.

What it tastes like

The nose is sweet fruit, butterscotch, banoffee pie, honey and warm spice. The finish is long and warming, lightly spiced, with oak and sweetness that hang about. It is bottled at 43 percent and it is built for sipping neat, though it holds its shape in an Old Fashioned or a Boulevardier.

Four golds at two competitions

Gold at the World Whiskies Awards in 2018, again in 2020 and again in 2021, and Gold at the Melbourne International Spirits Competition in 2020. Four golds at two competitions is a reasonable answer to the question of whether a whisky matured in the wet tropics can hold up against whisky matured anywhere else.

The same cask idea runs through the rum

Red wine casks are not kept for the whisky alone. FNQ Rum Co. Iridium 5yr Dark Rum spends five years in ex red wine hogsheads, and it was named World's Best Pot Still at the 2021 World Rum Awards. Different raw material, same thinking about wood.

It is out of stock, and we would rather say so

There is none of it available at the moment. The product page will let you know when that changes, and we would rather point you somewhere good in the meantime than pretend otherwise.

If it was the oak you were after, Agave Australis Aged 2yr spends two years in American oak and drinks deep and caramelised. If it was the red wine casks, it is Iridium.

Common questions

Is it actually made in Queensland?

Yes. Queensland barley, Atherton Tablelands spring water, distilled and matured at Walkamin, and the back label says product of Australia.

Will there be more?

We are not going to give you a date we cannot keep. Seven years in wood is a long lead time and the honest answer is that there is nothing to announce today.

Where can I taste the range?

At the cellar door at Mt Uncle Distillery in Walkamin, open daily 10am to 6pm, closed public holidays. A guided tasting is $20 a guest for four 15ml pours you choose from FNQ Rum Co., Agave Australis and Botanic Australis.