Goalong Brandy Cask
A new Goalong whiskey review!
Let me start with the disclaimer in the form of a big Thank You to the Goalong distillery. They were so very kind to send me a bottle of their prizewinning brandy cask Chinese whiskey. Prizewinning? Yes, but more about that later.
My adventure with Goalong whisky started 2 years ago, when a friend introduced me to a small batch by Goalong. It was my first Chinese whiskey and I was very curious to try it. I also decided to share my findings and remarks with you all on my website.
After that review, the distillery reached out to me and asked if I wanted to try a sample of their 2023 small batch. I said yes and again shared my ideas about this whiskey on this blog.
I kept following the brand, but missed quite a lot it seems. Again, more about that soon. But the distillery reached out to me, and checked if I wanted a sample this year.
The answer is yes! (Thank you again Goalong distillery!) And this time, I received two whiskies to try! Today we discuss the first: The Goalong single malt, single cask Chinese whiskey. Aged in a Xinjiang Kashgar brandy cask.
But I mentioned prizes. Yes, prizes or awards were won by the Goalong distillery.
In 2024, a range of Goalong whiskey products won 9 World Whiskies Awards, of which 6 were gold. At the International Spirits Challenge, they won 2 gold awards and 2 silver awards. This is great news for the Goalong distillery that started in 2011, and today I'm actually discussing an award and price winner.
This specific whiskey won a bronze award at the World Whiskies Awards 2024 and a golden tasting award at the International Spirits Challenge 2024.
Now, if you are in my close whisky group of friends, there is a 95% chance I shared a sample of the Goalong Small Batch 2023 with you. And I got feedback from you all.
A small spoiler: I don't think I be that generous this year. What a dram.
But I'm rushing a bit. First, let me discuss a big change as opposed to the last two bottles: The packaging. The boxing got an upgrade. Where the previous two whiskies were packaged in an intricate folded box, this whisky is packaged in a sturdy box with a cardboard holder that fixes the bottle in place.
It no longer carries the nice bowtie on the side, but all in all, I love it.
This NAS whiskey, comes from cask number 51c301 and bottle number 117/360.
It is non chill-filtered and has its natural colour. It is bottled at 47% Vol.
The colour is several shades darker than its brothers on this website, which is not weird since it was aged on an ex-brandy cask. I think I would describe the colour as deep honey. Depending on the light, it switches between yellow and golden brown.
On the nose there is much going on: Fresh green grapes, sultana's, oak and some slight notes of cardamom. Some straw mixes with a dusty hayloft where small apples are being dried. A second sniff gives me hints of pepper and green apples. Darker notes in the back give some mocha and coco.
The first sip gives a nice surprising mix of fresh applejuice, white pepper and dark raisins. Some light chocolate in on the back of the tongue, ending in some leather and cloves.
The finish is medium long and leaves a sweetened nutmeg note, lingering next to some hints of grapes. A lovely autumn dram.