Three of the best new whiskies push the boundary of flavour
Crafted with patience, finished in character-rich oak, these three whiskies prove the right wood turns spirit into story
WHISKY, AT ITS CORE, IS A CONVERSATION between three elements: grain, time and wood. What begins as spirit is shaped less by the initial recipe than by the vessel it rests in and it’s here that distillers continue to experiment, chasing both nuance and novelty. Across the world, oak remains the defining element: a medium that can sweeten, darken, soften or sharpen depending on where it’s grown, how it’s seasoned, and what it once carried.
The current trend is less about chasing extremes and more about refinement. Longer fermentations, carefully chosen casks and selective finishes are replacing the bombast of overproof bottlings or gimmicky releases. Whisky drinkers today want complexity that unfolds slowly, where restraint is as impressive as richness. They want to taste provenance, whether that’s the damp air of Tasmania, the slow maturity of Japanese oak or the evolving confidence of English single malts.
This trio reflects that shift. Each distillery has drawn on different traditions and terroirs, from Mizunara’s exotic grain to sherry-soaked staves and Anglo-American barrel work. Together they show how wood remains the true master and an active collaborator in the whisky story
Lark Mizunara Rare Cask Series Batch 003
Lark’s Rare Cask Series returned this July with Batch 003, a Tasmanian single malt finished in one of the rarest materials in whisky-making, Japanese Mizunara oak. Native to northern Japan, Mizunara trees must be at least 80 years old before felling is permitted and often take up to 200 years to reach full maturity. Their timber is notoriously porous and unpredictable but delivers flavours no other oak can.
Batch 003 begins at Lark’s Cambridge distillery – just east of Hobart – where 100 per cent Tasmanian barley is post-smoked using 100kg of local peat per two tonnes of malt, a signature Lark technique. The spirit undergoes a seven-day fermentation (longer than average), allowing complex esters to form before double distillation. It’s then matured for five to seven years in 200-litre ex-bourbon casks, with an average peat content of 30 per cent.
The final touch is a finish in Mizunara oak, which Lark says imparts layers of coconut, sandalwood and exotic spice. Tasting notes include maple-baked pear and heather honey on the nose; peaches and cream, crystallised ginger and caramelised banana on the palate; and a finish of orange zest panna cotta, chocolate-coated coffee beans, pastry cream and white pepper.
Bottled at 46 per cent ABV and presented in the Rare Cask Series gift box, Batch 003 exemplifies Lark’s pursuit of refined, small-batch innovation. It’s a meeting of Japanese technique and Tasmanian terroir, with each bottle hand-filled and blended to showcase the rarity of the cask and the character of the island.
Lark Mizunara Rare Cask Series Batch 003; RRP $1000
Pedro Ximenez Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky
Tasmania’s Callington Mill has dropped a Pedro Ximénez-aged single malt that’s made a lot of whisky fans sit up in their seats. A finalist for Best in Class at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, it landed a 98-point score and a Double Gold, outpacing hundreds of global entries with quiet confidence and serious depth.
The method? Five years in rare PX casks from Spain’s Sherry Triangle. The result? A whisky that opens musty and dry before the sweetness lands. Apricot jam and honeycomb on the nose. Vanilla, dried fruit and spice rolling across the palate. Then the oak kicks in – firm, structured, pulling things towards nutmeg, leather and toasted grain. The finish drags just long enough to deliver dark chocolate and that savoury rancio note you only get from properly seasoned wood.
It’s not trying to be flashy. It’s not chasing trends. It just happens to be one of the most well-balanced, tightly built single malts on the market right now and the judges agree.
This isn’t a one-hit wonder for the Tasmanian distiller either. The same whisky scored 97 points at the London Spirits Competition earlier this year, picking up Single Malt Whisky of the Year.
It’s available now if you can get your hands on it. Whether it takes the top title in November, it’s already proven one thing: there’s a new benchmark for PX cask whisky, and it’s coming out of Tasmania.
Pedro Ximenez Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky is available at select Dan Murphy’s for $149
Iron Ridge with Richard Hammond
Celebrity spirits generally fall into two camps: mediocre cash grabs or well-branded mediocrity. Richard Hammond’s Iron Ridge English Reserve Single Malt, thankfully, is neither.
Crafted in collaboration with Hawkridge Distillers – the same team behind multiple award-winning gins – Iron Ridge is a genuinely impressive English single malt, one that begins in rare American bourbon casks and finishes in a mix of sherry and red wine barrels hand-picked by Hammond himself.
On the nose: light oak, caramel and a restrained sweetness. The palate deepens into layers of vanilla, nutmeg, orchard fruit and just enough spice to keep things moving. There’s a whisper of smoke, but it stays in the background, rounding out the finish with warmth and structure. It’s balanced, grown-up and quietly confident. A dram for the fireside.
This isn’t Hammond’s first foray into spirits. His Ratio London Dry Gin made headlines for its oddball botanicals, nettles, bilberries and wild gorse, as well as a cog-shaped bottle design that leans into his <Top Gear> credentials. It’s good, no doubt. But the whisky is the main act.
The name Iron Ridge is personal, drawn from the view outside Hammond’s Lake District home. So is the process of its making. Every cask was selected on a cross-continental trip with Hawkridge, searching out barrels that could carry real character. The result is a whisky with personality, yes, but also patience and clarity.
Limited in release and cut from a different cloth than most celebrity launches, Iron Ridge is a reminder that when done right, the crossover between craftsmanship and name recognition can actually produce something worth drinking.
Iron Ridge will be available online from hawkridgedistillers.com
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