Beenleigh S.B.S 2017

This Beenleigh comes via 1423's transparent S.B.S line, a 2017 single cask of Australian pot-still molasses rum aged seven years and bottled unsweetened at a punchier 54%. Beenleigh is one of Australia's oldest distilleries, and the additive-free, single-barrel approach lets the cask and the make speak plainly.

The ex-bourbon maturation gives it a bourbon-adjacent profile that whisky drinkers will find familiar: roasted wood, caramel and dried fruit on the nose, with a faint glue-like top note from the pot still. The palate is sweet in a natural, undosed way, with honey, roasted notes and dried fruit, finishing on caramel, oak, nuts and coffee. At 54% it has honest weight without turning fierce, and it stays straightforward and tasty rather than intricate. For anyone moving from bourbon or sherried whisky toward pot-still rum, it makes a comfortable and rewarding bridge.