Lark Distilling Teams With Australian Winery On New Wine Cask Finished Whisky

Lark Distilling Co. out of Australia recently joined forces with fellow Australian operation Brokenwood Winery for a new single malt whisky finished in Shiraz wine casks.

Rare Cask Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz (51% ABV) is the third single malt whisky in the distillery’s Rare Cask series and has been finished in a cask that once held Brokenwood’s 2018 Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, named both “Shiraz of the Year” and “Wine of the Year” by the 2021 James Halliday Companion. 

“Our customers are loving how flavourful red wine casks can be, partially an expressive Shiraz such as Brokenwood’s, Lark Head Distiller Chris Thomson said in a prepared statement. “There’s great drinking to be had here with the whisky offering richness, boldness and a hint of tannin leaving behind exciting notes of the Shiraz’s past lives. The notes of red spice and bramble really let those beautiful Hunter Shiraz notes shine through.” 

Each bottling comes complete with a part of Lark’s history – a copper medallion included handcrafted from a decommissioned Lark copper pot still. A complimentary 100ml bottle is included with each purchase, as well. 

With only 505 bottles available, Rare Cask Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz is available for a limited time only, exclusively from Lark for a retail price of $1,200 AUD (around $900 USD) per 700mL bottle. You’ll find official tasting notes below.

• Nose: An initial sweet fruity hit of blood plums and fresh mulberries give way to an intoxicating cocktail of allspice, cardamom, earth, black pepper and cinnamon. Seville orange marmalade, fruit mince pies and a hint of Dutch liquorice weave an incredibly complex web of fruit, spice, and all things nice.
• Palate: Following a big bite of sweet red apple there’s a hint of honey and eucalypt. Light brown sugar, almonds, dried ginger & cinnamon.
• Finish: Green peppercorns, eucalypt, hint of dark chocolate, orange oil. Oak and wine tannin give this whisky a dry yet refined finish. A fruity punch of Shiraz and the intoxicating complexity of a freshly opened spice drawer.