Amber Lane has unveiled its latest expression, Rue de La Chartruese – the first-ever whisky to be aged in a Chartreuse cask.

Rue de la Chartreuse is a five-year labour of love for the Central Coast distillery, having been carefully aged in a 225 litre Yellow Chartreuse barrel to create the unique, vibrant yellow dram.

French herbal liqueur Chartreuse has a 400-year history, having been made to the same recipe by an order of monks since 1605. 

Amber Lane has paid homage to the traditional Chartreuse with its single cask whisky, creating a dram with notes of honey, botanicals, lemon meringue, vanilla, gentle spice and a hint of aniseed.

The whisky was first aged in a single bourbon cask from Kentucky’s Heaven Hill, before moving into the Yellow Chartreuse cask for a seven-month stint. The whisky was then returned to the Bourbon barrel to rest and integrate before water was added to bring the spirit down to bottle strength.

Amber Lane’s blend has already been given the tick of approval by the Chevalier of the Order of Chartreuse – formally trained representatives of the Chartreuse monk order.

Amber Lane Distillery co-owner Rod Berry said: “We are absolutely delighted to finally bring our Rue de la Chartreuse to the market. This whisky has been a five-year labour of love for us and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

“Our goal was to pay homage to the traditional Chartreuse liqueur, which is steeped in about 130 botanicals. The recipe for Chartreuse is such a closely guarded secret – the monks even have botanicals not included in the recipe delivered to the distillery to disguise the correct list of components – so we knew our offering had to have the depth of flavour, richness and vibrancy of the much-beloved Chartreuse liqueur. 

“The whisky’s name is also a tribute to the traditional Chartreuse, with a French spin on Amber Lane. Our mission is to take people on a whisky journey, hence the ‘lane’ part of our moniker; in this case, we wanted to take people down a French laneway – the Road of Chartreuse – where they can try something that has never been done before.”

The 700ml single malt whisky (RRP $195, 46% ABV) is now available exclusively for wholesale.

It will be officially launched to the public on May 16, to coincide with International Charteuse Day. Amber Lane will also host a special open day at its Central Coast distillery on May 17 to mark the release.

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