Highwayman x AOB ‘Diemen’s Rising’ 002 Single Malt Whisky 700ml 57.8%

The 2nd release in Highwayman’s Diemen Rising series

Details
700ml: 57.8%alc
Region: Tasmania to Byron Bay, NSW
Cask type: Tawny, Apera, Pinot Noir, bourbon, botrytis, maple
Bottler: Highwayman/AOB
Distilled: Distilled by AOB and Highwayman
Release Date: February 2023

Description:
The whisky was distilled in Tasmania on Highwayman’s equipment and also distilled at Highwayman distillery by owner and distiller, Dan Woolley in Byron Bay. Sold out on the Highwayman website, this is the second expression in a series of collaborations between Highwayman and AOB with an interweaving back story containing so many twists and turns that we’ll let AOB/Highwayman tell the tale.

The difference between release 1 and release 2 is that release 2 was finished in maple syrup casks.

AOB/Highwayman comments;
“In 2016 my very good friends from AOB had thousands of litres of whisky contract distilled in Tasmania, aging it in a combination of various casks including tawny, Apera, Pinot noir and bourbon. This was left to mature for over 4 years before it was freighted up to Byron Bay. Meanwhile, and this is where it gets interesting, Dan purchased a mash tun and still in 2018. The same mash tun and still that the above-mentioned whisky was produced on! This equipment was freighted up to Byron Bay and Highwayman whisky production commenced in that same year at the Lord Byron distillery.
In 2021 the AOB whisky was tipped into a vat and married together before being transferred into a Botrytis (dessert wine) cask for a second maturation of over one year. In 2022 this whisky was then tipped into a vat and married with 2 Highwayman peated whisky casks that had been aging in Apera for approx 26 months. This incredible whisky was now taking on depth and complexity like nothing the boys had seen before but it wasn’t ready just yet…
The whisky was then divided into three equal parts for a final maturation in maple syrup casks. The whisky from the Meade cask and rum cask were then married together and bottled to create Dieman’s Rising 001 yielding 600 bottles at 57.8%.

All of this dark and mysterious whisky was born in Van Dieman’s land, rising up the coast to Byron Bay -Dieman’s Rising.”.