This is not your everyday dram.

Apple Of My Rye is a boundary-pushing collaboration with Backwoods Distilling Co — the multi-award-winning distillery crowned Best Australian Single Malt at the 2025 Australian International Spirits Awards. When you partner with the best, you don’t make something safe. You make something memorable.

At its core is something almost unheard of in Australian whisky:
100% triticale — a rare hybrid grain of wheat (Triticum) and rye (Secale), originally developed in 19th-century Germany. Voyager Malt has supplied this fascinating grain, and to our knowledge, this is only the second Australian whisky release to hero it.

Thirty percent of the mash has been biscuit roasted, adding layers of toasted depth and warmth. The result? The spice and backbone of rye wrapped in the softness and subtle sweetness of wheat — familiar, but intriguingly different.

Then comes the cask.

A custom 100-litre barrel, built from ex-bourbon staves and seasoned with premium, local Australian apple brandy. Not just filled — designed. The apple brandy seasoning weaves delicate orchard fruit through bold grain character, creating a whisky that feels both powerful and unexpectedly lifted.

Bottled at a commanding 58% ABV, this is a whisky that asks something of you. It rewards patience, a few drops of water if that's your gam, and a palate that enjoys being challenged.

And only 82 bottles exist.

Bottle Size: 500ml

ABV: 58% abv

Outturn: 82 bottles

Distillery Tasting Notes

Nose: Big hit of freshly peeled citrus straight up — like you’ve just torn into an orange over the sink. Under that it goes sun-baked hay, a bit of wild scrub and herbal lift. Then the baking stuff starts creeping in — cinnamon first, then allspice — like someone’s firing up the oven in the old farmhouse.

Palate: Bold and spirit-forward. Crisp green apple drives the middle, with a nutty, crumbly sweetness riding shotgun. There’s a flicker of coolness too — mint and a touch of eucalyptus — that keeps it lively and gives it that “yep, this is Backwoods” edge.

Finish: Chewy and proper satisfying. Toffee apple vibes all day — brown sugar, caramel crack, and that sticky sweetness that hangs around longer than it should. Spiced warmth rolls back in at the end and just keeps going, like the last mouthful of dessert you’re still thinking about five minutes later.

Our Tasting Notes

Nose: Freshly zested citrus peel bursts from the glass, followed by sun-dried hay bales and wild herbs under a hot country sky. Cinnamon and clove drift in like the promise of something baking in the farmhouse kitchen.

Palate: Bold and spirit-forward — unapologetically alive. Bright Granny Smith apples crunch through the centre, wrapped in nutty crumble topping. There’s a cheeky lift of menthol and eucalyptus that keeps everything vibrant and distinctly Australian.

Finish: Sweet shop nostalgia with tangy Super Apple Sour Bubblegum Pop Warheads, closing out with a sticky, chewy gourmet jalapeno marshmallow encrusted with nutty trail mix.