Highwayman – A man on a horse, carrying a gun, who holds up and robs travellers on public roads. Highwayman Whisky – an altogether different beast, as we shall see…
The “next wave” of Australian craft distilleries is washing across the nation at present, with the last six months seeing a large number of new names bring their debut releases to the market. Most of those distilleries have taken the “traditional” route by setting up, distilling, and waiting patiently for their spirit to mature. Others, as Whisky & Wisdom has written about previously, have adopted the strategy of purchasing spirit distilled elsewhere and then selling it under their own brand/label to establish their name whilst they wait for their own distilled spirit to mature. They effectively operate as independent bottlers, until such time as the spirit they’ve made themselves is ready to launch.
Highwayman is one such distillery and operation. Effectively established in 2018 by Dan Woolley, Highwayman is based in Byron Bay, adding to the rapidly growing number of distilleries in New South Wales. Dan’s name is known to most Australian whisky enthusiasts, having worked tirelessly for many years as the brand ambassador for the Beam/Suntory portfolio in Australia, most notably with Laphroaig. What many people weren’t aware of is that, during this time, Woolley would spend his holidays and time off working voluntarily at numerous distilleries in Scotland, the USA, Japan, and Australia, learning the art and craft of distillation. Highwayman is thus the realisation of a long-term dream, in more ways than one.
The name reflects many aspects of Woolley’s journey to this point, but most notably the many years of travelling the highways of Australia to spread the whisky gospel. Plus the fact that the casks, spirit, and kit have travelled the highways to Byron Bay, and the filled bottles will depart via the highways as they find their way into consumers’ homes.
Highwayman set up and currently still operates within the Lord Byron Distillery (a completely separate and unrelated entity), although Woolley anticipates moving out into his own premises (dubbed “Highwayman HQ”) in July next year. The new set up will included a bonded aging warehouse; a bottling, labelling and packaging hall; and – importantly – a cellar door, incorporating a tasting room and shop. His first own-made spirit flowed from the stills in September, 2018, and whilst that spirit is now officially whisky (two years is the legal minimum in Australia), he feels it’s not quite ready yet. His kit includes the mashtun and still that used to be in place at Adams Distillery in Tasmania, which he purchased and freighted up to Byron Bay. Unlike many distilleries in Australia, he mashes and ferments his own wash, rather than buying in ready-made beer from a contract brewery.
Production is very much “craft”, both in scale and methodology, and everything is very hands-on. Distillation is one full day a week, with the other five to six days taking up everything else to do with the brand and operation. Overall production works on a five week cycle (that effectively resets and starts again each week) with Week 1 being the first mash and pitching the yeast; Week 2 being the second mash and pitching the yeast; Week 3 doing the wash distillation of the first batch; Week 4 doing the wash distillation of the second batch; and then Week 5 running the spirit distillation of the two batches of wash. Output is currently around 60 litres a week (raw volume, not pure alcohol) although he anticipates upscaling to around 120 litres a week once established in the new premises next year. To put this in context, even at the projected output hoped to be achieved next year, Highwayman’s annual production is still significantly less than 1.0% of the annual output by the likes of Starward and Archie Rose. And it’s around 10% of the smallest distillery in Scotland right now!
With so many years in the drinks industry (his CV includes stints as both bartender and bar operator), as well as short stints working at some of the most famous distilleries in the world, I asked Dan what the single, most important take-away was that he’s now applying to his operation. His answer is telling: “Whatever you do, make sure it’s genuine and comes from pure passion and love for the whisky. There are so many companies that are only in it for the money, with marketing departments that spin stories of complete and utter horse s#%*. Real whisky lovers can see straight through that and there is nothing genuine about it. Let your heart, soul, and love for whisky shine through. I can thank John Campbell (Laphroaig Distillery Manager) for that; truly a very good friend and the most genuine I know.”
Highwayman publicly launched itself onto the stage earlier this year in April with the release of its first whiskies – known simply as Batches 1, 2, and 3 – although these were, as stated at the start, effectively independent bottlings, with the spirit distilled elsewhere and matured at Byron Bay. Batches 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 followed shortly afterwards. Each batch is intentionally small, each being the product of just two or three 20 litre or 50 litre casks being married together, and this is precisely the essence of what Highwayman is about: Experimentation and diversity. Different size casks; different cask and oak types; and casks that were previously filled with different liquids make up the current inventory of maturing stock. Woolley elaborates: “I may develop my version of a ‘core range’ in five-plus years down the track but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Having worked with some of the greatest distilleries in the world for so many years, I sometimes found it disheartening when we would release boring, run of the mill, generic whiskies when I knew what some of the special release and single cask whiskies were like. I truly understand that a huge distillery making and selling so much volume needs to make whiskies dumbed down for the masses, but I just want to make incredibly serious whisky for incredibly serious whisky lovers. Nothing average or boring; every whisky a unique experience.”
Highwayman recently sent Whisky & Wisdom a wee tasting pack which included samples of Batch 6, 7, and 8. More interestingly, there was also a sample of recently-distilled new make spirit. This particular new make spirit is worth exploring, as it’s Highwayman’s “peated house style”. The mashbill consists of two-thirds Scottish heavily peated malt, purchased from well-known supplier, Bairds. The peat is sourced from the northern Highlands around Caithness, and is peated to 51ppm phenols. The remaining third is local NSW malt. It’s all then milled, mashed, and distilled together to make the one spirit. Highwayman also has an unpeated house style, which is 100% local NSW barley.
Highwayman New Make Spirit (Peated) – 55%
Classic NMS cereal notes on the nose, which was remarkably clean and fragrant, yet without seeming overly perfumed or floral as some new makes can be. The influence of the peat comes out with a mild smokiness on the nose, but with the relative absence of iodine, maritime, or earthy characteristics one might associate with an Islay peatiness. (Having said that, a slight antiseptic note emerged after 15 minutes in the glass). Dark toffee fudge and Darrel Lea soft-eating licorice are the two main aromas on the nose, although returning to the nose after having a healthy sip, German black bread is also quite prevalent. On the palate, the spirit is remarkably well-behaved, with an oily character and a flavour that again reinforces that licorice note. The barley sweetness makes for a tasty spirit that could be enjoyed neat if one was so inclined. Fascinating stuff, and I can’t wait to see where this will go with a few years of cask influence.
Highwayman Batch 6 – 55%
Batch 6 is concocted from two French Oak Apera casks (married together before bottling), and bottled at three years old. The nose was reminiscent of several other quality apera cask Australian whiskies (particularly some of the releases from TIB), although the palate was a little sharp and flighty. Three years in a hot climate in 20 litre ex-wine casks does run a risk with tannins coming to the fore, and they’re only just kept in check here. Perhaps the humidity of Byron Bay and the coastal influence might suppress this aspect a little, compared to some of the releases we’ve seen from drier climate distilleries south and/or inland from here. Still a respectable whisky in its own right, it was my least favourite of the three.
Highwayman Batch 7 – 55%
The nose of Batch 7 (three 50 litre ex-Tawny casks) stood out from the other two batches here, offering superb notes of stewed fruits (particularly rhubarb) and red currants. The palate was also notable for its balanced sweetness and silky texture. The wine influence, whilst very front and centre, has not overwhelmed the malt. What’s particularly notable is the complete lack of alcohol aggressiveness or heat, despite being 55% ABV. This is tasty, more-ish and I could spend some serious time drinking this on a cold Winter’s night. Or an Autumnal afternoon. Or a Spring morning. Or any day in Summer. Delicious and well-crafted whisky.
Highwayman Batch 8 – 55%
Batch 8 is unique amongst all the releases to date, in that it’s matured in first-fill American oak, ex-bourbon barrels from Maker’s Mark, i.e. not Australian/wine casks. (Although the casks were re-coopered to 50 litres). A touch over three years old, it’s still taken on a significant amount of colour. The nose is a little more “traditional” and is not a million miles away from some notable bourbon cask-matured single malts from Speyside. (Early releases of Glenlivet Nadurra come to mind, as well as bourbon-cask Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottlings from Miltonduff and Royal Brackla). Make no mistake though, it still has that Australian oiliness with hints of eucalyptus and barley sweetness, and there’s a fruitiness on display that is clearly the function of a good fermentation and a careful distillation run. There’s a slight saccharin sweetness on the finish. Its youthful age has not entirely wiped out the cereal / floral / fruity note from the original new make spirit, which obviously gives the dram plenty of interest and complexity. Was this bottled at the right time? Yes, probably, but I’d love to know what this would be like at four or five years old from a 100 litre cask. One suspects it would be bloody spectacular.
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Having chatted to Dan and learned more about what’s sitting in the warehouse and his plans for the future, it’s clear there’s some exciting stuff to come. Like any young distillery in Australia, the challenge is to learn which oak and cask types partner best with the spirit being produced, and how the local climate and cellaring conditions affect long-term maturation. There will also be the interesting phase when it comes time to transition in the spirit he’s distilled himself, on the back of a brand that’s been built with spirit made elsewhere. Given that he’s faced down the Grim Reaper on horseback, I suspect he’s up to the task.
Cheers,
AD
PS: You also might like our article, “The challenges of starting a new whisky brand“.
PPS: Highwayman’s Facebook page is here.
Australian Whisky production volumes are far too low, hence their prices are far too high. There are many worthy age statement Scotch Whisky’s that are significantly better priced than the Australian offerings
Where was the spirit from for batch 6,7 and 8 ?