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Lark Single Malt

OVERALL
RATING

Whisky Review: Lark Single Malt

Tasting Notes:

About:
Appearance:
Nose:
Extremely fruit-forward, almost tropical: pineapple, kiwi, Meyer lemon.
Palate:
A total disconnect from the nose. Not at all fruity. Instead, more of a piney, foresty taste. It has a scotch quality but is wonderfully (for me) unpeaty, even though it’s got a lot of peat in the components–so who knows, maybe I’m developing a taste? But I don’t get that cymbal hit of smoke, which made me really happy. The finish is smooth, almost creamy. Starts with a walk in the woods and ends up with a cream soda at an olde time diner. Like a Willy Wonka creation, the Lark Single Malt brings me from one seemingly disparate place to another, and the journey is pretty darn wonderful. Final Thoughts & Score/Buy A Bottle: Score: 84/100 I don’t drink a lot of single malt, but the Lark makes me want to try more. The port cask aging brings a sweetness and depth to single malt that makes it attractive to those—like me!—who aren’t typical single malt drinkers.
Finish:
Comments:
Lark Single Malt Whisky
image via Carin Moonin/The Whiskey Wash

One of my favorite vacations was Australia. It was probably the last Big Vacation I was on. While we definitely had some times in Melbourne that I will remember forever, I was also really excited for the second half of our trip, which would take us to Tasmania. So far away! So other-side-of-planet! After all, south of Tasmania there was nothing until you got to Antarctica. Even the winds there sounded exotic: The Roaring ‘40s, unfettered by land, ripping across the island.

I was down with all this.

One of the things I noticed about Tasmania was the water. Not only could one drink it, but one wanted to drink it. It was cool and clear and sweet. It tasted like good water. It quenched your thirst and more. So it’s unsurprising that the whiskies I tried while there were similarly un-muddied—literally, pure of spirit.

Thus, when I got a sample of the Hobart-based Lark Single Malt, I was eager to possibly revisit my antipodean time there.

Lark Distillery was established in 1992, and was the first distillery to open in Tasmania in 150 years. It started as a family production; after sharing whisky on a Tasman fishing trip with his father-in-law, Bill Lark realized that everything needed for whisky was right nearby–excellent water, highland peat, and an ideal climate. Bill’s wife Lyn, and daughter Kristy, have played an integral part in growing the business. When Kristy joined the team as head distiller, she was one of the planet’s youngest female head distillers. Half of the barley for their Classic Cask is peated using the distillery’s own peat bog, and the other half is Franklin barley malted for them at nearby Cascade Brewery

Lark Single Malt is their flagship product, but they also make gin, rum, and a whisky liqueur. The Lark Single Malt is distilled with Tasmanian barley, is made from 50 percent peated malt, and is double-distilled in locally crafted copper-pot stills. It’s aged for five to eight years in small, 100 liter oak former sherry and port casks. The smaller barrels have a larger surface area-to-volume, which allows for a faster rate of evaporation (the “angel’s share”) and a quicker aging process.

Tasting Notes: Lark Single Malt

Vital stats: A 750 ml bottle of Lark Single Malt will run you about $100, and it’s 86 proof.

Color: Light straw; old newspaper; the sun, low in the sky.

Nose: Extremely fruit-forward, almost tropical: pineapple, kiwi, Meyer lemon.

Palate: A total disconnect from the nose. Not at all fruity. Instead, more of a piney, foresty taste. It has a scotch quality but is wonderfully (for me) unpeaty, even though it’s got a lot of peat in the components–so who knows, maybe I’m developing a taste? But I don’t get that cymbal hit of smoke, which made me really happy.

The finish is smooth, almost creamy. Starts with a walk in the woods and ends up with a cream soda at an olde time diner. Like a Willy Wonka creation, the Lark Single Malt brings me from one seemingly disparate place to another, and the journey is pretty darn wonderful.

Final Thoughts & Score/Buy A Bottle:

Score: 84/100

Buy NowI don’t drink a lot of single malt, but the Lark makes me want to try more. The port cask aging brings a sweetness and depth to single malt that makes it attractive to those—like me!—who aren’t typical single malt drinkers.

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