Set them side by side and you can taste exactly what a cask does. All three start the same way — malted New Zealand barley, distilled in Dunedin, left to mature by the sea in our Oamaru bond store. What separates them is the wood.
South Island Single Malt · 40% — the one to start with. Ex-bourbon barrels, unpeated, honeycomb and orange in the glass. Golden fruit, soft spice and creamy malt, balanced and light on its feet. A pleasant wee drop to sip.
Dunedin DoubleCask · 40% — the same ex-bourbon spirit, finished in red wine casks that pull it towards golden auburn. Beeswax and fresh cereal on the nose, toasted oak and soft spice behind it, then red fruit and a delicate dry cherry finish from the oxidised Pinot Noir wood.
Oamaruvian Cask Strength · 55.8% — the one that goes furthest. Ex-bourbon, then New Zealand Pinot Noir, then an ex-merlot cask to finish, which is where the rusty red umber colour comes from. Christmas cake and madeira, caramel, dried fruit and spice, bottled at full strength. Full of flavour, yet elegant and smooth.
Pour them in that order and the whole range makes sense in three glasses.