There are some great whisky destinations in New Zealand, but Dunedin is not one of them— despite the heavy Scottish influence on place names, architecture, and cuisine. In search of bars with New Zealand whiskies to try, or just some good Scotch, I stumbled into the Albar just off the octagon at the heart of Dunedin. The whisky selection was not extensive, but the staff were friendly and the prices fair.

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Whisky: Scapegrace Fortitude Limited Release V

Country/Region: New Zealand

ABV: 46%

Cask: New French Oak

Age: N/A

Notes: Oak and dried fruits arrived with botanical spices— a twist on the familiar. Red ginger led to leather and woodsy resins before more cracked pepper and the new French oak emerged. More milk chocolate lay in wait with wispy smoke and tobacco (though some of that may have been the eons of bar smoke baked into the walls and chairs). Medium to light-bodied, the flavor profile began with dry, old leather and fruity confectionaries— plum and shiso candies— and ended with a pop of peppery botanical spices. The finish was medium-length with peppery ash, shiso and mint candies, and drying woody tannins.

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Score: 6 (77)

Mental Image: Abandoned Confectionary Store

Conclusion: I rather liked this whisky. It combined familiar themes with some new elements; it was a twist on a well-trod single malt. Looking online, I appear to be much hotter on this than others, and on whiskybase several people noted how woody the whisky was. While it was oak-driven, I never found it overpowering as other elements gradually emerged and wrapped the profile in smoke. As a bar pour I assume this had been open for a while, so some of those woodier elements may have simply softened and faded over time.

Initially fruity and concentrated, with the charred wood and tobacco gradually arriving the effects of the wood smoke became hard to miss. This evolution provided good depth and complexity to what had initially felt a touch simplistic.  The mouthfeel was light and a touch more intensity or texture would take this to the next level— or perhaps leave it overly woody (a possibility that feels more likely after seeing the other online comments).

Overall, impressive stuff with plenty of promise. In 2024 Scapegrace opened a distillery in Otago to begin producing their own malts (previous releases like this were done through contract distilling).