Tiny Batch Whisky - Medium Char

WE MEAN IT WHEN WE SAY HAND MADE

Every Barrel has been hand-filled
Every Bottle has been numbered by hand
Screen printed by hand, filled by hand, corked by hand…

“We’ve got the scars to prove it and the liquid to prove it was worth it”

- Andre Pienaar

WE MEAN IT
WHEN WE SAY
HAND MADE.

Every Barrel has been hand-filled

Every Bottle has been numbered by hand

Screen printed by hand, filled by hand, corked by hand…

“We’ve got the scars to prove it and the liquid to prove it was worth it”

- Andre Pienaar

VIRGIN
AMERICAN OAK
MEDIUM CHAR

This Medium Char barrel creates a refreshingly refined whisky blooming with notes of white chocolate, autumn grass and mahogany spice.

Intriguing and simultaneously comforting.

R690 | 500ML | 43% ALC

VIRGIN
AMERICAN OAK
HEAVY CHAR

This Heavy Char barrel creates a truly decadent whisky oozing with toasted caramel, viscous maple and rich oak notes.

A must try for every Bourbon lover!

R690 | 500ml | 43% alc

VIRGIN
AMERICAN OAK
HEAVY CHAR

THIS HEAVY CHAR BARREL CREATES A TRULY DECADENT WHISKY OOZING WITH TOASTED CARAMEL, VISCOUS MAPLE AND RICH OAK NOTES.

A MUST TRY FOR EVERY BOURBON LOVER!

R690 | 500ML | 43% ALC

BUNDLE! BUNDLE!
SAVE R130!

1 x Tiny Batch Heavy Char (500ml)
1 x Tiny Batch Medium Char (500ml)

Why not get the best of both worlds
and get 1 of each?

The Medium Char barrel creates a refreshingly refined whisky blooming with notes of white chocolate, autumn grass and mahogany spice.

The Heavy Char barrel creates a truly decadent whisky oozing with notes of toasted caramel, viscous maple and rich oak.

R1250 | 500ML | 43% ALC

EXCLUSIVE
LAUNCH T-SHIRT BY
GOOD GOOD GOOD

THE INAUGURAL GODZILLA THEMED LAUNCH T-SHIRT FOR OUR TINY BATCH WHISKY.

DESIGN BY: SHAUN HILL

MANUFACTURED BY: GOOD GOOD GOOD.

R550 | LIMITED EDITION OF 50

EXCLUSIVE
LAUNCH T-SHIRT
BY GOODGOODGOOD

The Inaugural Godzilla themed
launch T-shirt for our Tiny Batch Whisky.

Design by: Shaun Hill
Manufactured by: Good Good Good.

R550 | LIMITED EDITION OF 50

WORLD WHISKY AWARDS LIKED IT AS MUCH AS WE DO.

Up against some truly amazing 20yr old barrels of sought after whisky in the “Single grain, Single cask” category, Tiny Batch managed to scoop a bronze medal at the Worlds Whisky Awards 2022. Something we are proud to share with some of the best Whisky makers in the world.

A TINY BATCH OF WHISKY.
PUNCHING WAY ABOVE ITS WEIGHT.

SHOP NOW

WORLD WHISKY AWARDS LIKED IT AS MUCH AS WE DO.

Up against some truly amazing 20yr old barrels of sought after whisky in the “Single grain, Single cask” category, Tiny Batch managed to scoop a bronze medal at the Worlds Whisky Awards 2022. Something we are proud to share with some of the best Whisky makers in the world.

A TINY BATCH OF WHISKY. PUNCHING WAY ABOVE
ITS WEIGHT.

SHOP NOW

I have had the privilege of being involved with the birth and slow development of this excellent whisky. From the time Andre chose and filled the cask to the final tasting just recently, I have felt that this whisky would be special. The tastings along the way confirmed that the cask was doing its work slowly, but surely. Andre knew that he could not rush the maturation and he allowed the cask to mellow the whisky without any other interventions. The result is a whisky of distinction and a delight to the palate. Definitely a world class whisky on his first attempt. Congratulations on Tiny Batch. Every whisky lover should have at least one bottle.

Jonathan Miles

The Whisky Academy Founder

I have had the privilege of being involved with the birth and slow development of this excellent whisky. From the time Andre chose and filled the cask to the final tasting just recently, I have felt that this whisky would be special. The tastings along the way confirmed that the cask was doing its work slowly, but surely. Andre knew that he could not rush the maturation and he allowed the cask to mellow the whisky without any other interventions. The result is a whisky of distinction and a delight to the palate. Definitely a world class whisky on his first attempt. Congratulations on Tiny Batch. Every whisky lover should have at least one bottle.

Jonathan Miles

The Whisky Academy Founder

FAQ

A charred barrel is one that has had its interior exposed with an open flame, in other words "burnt". The level of char is basically just the time you choose to let that fire burn the wood. And while the purpose of charring seems sort of intuitive — a charred surface yields a smokey flavour, right? The char actually has almost nothing to do with smokiness and its effects are far more complicated. And delicious.

HEAVY CHAR

- Caramel Toffee
- Smokey Spice
- Mellow

The Heavier Char usually leads to a spirit with distinctive notes of caramel toffee, smoke and spice.

MEDIUM CHAR

- Oaky Tannin
- Coconut
- Floral

The Medium Char usually leads to fresher, more vibrant spirit with DISTINCTIVE notes of wood, coconut and pepper.

To understand “why char” — and to what extent — it’s useful to know what’s going on in the wood itself. Fortunately, as far as barrel science is concerned we only look at a small group of compounds.

There’s the cellulose, which creates a tight bond (but doesn’t really react with the whiskey itself), hemicellulose, lignin, tannins, and oak lactones. And the extent to which you char a barrel will have an impact on those last four.

HEMICELLULOSE
The hemicellulose is one of the most important components of American oak. When exposed to high levels of heat (140°C and above), hemicellulose will break down into wood sugars, allowing for some caramelisation on the interior surface of the barrel. If you’ve ever enjoyed a bourbon with notes of brown sugar, caramel, or toffee, you’ve got hemicellulose to thank. Just don’t do it out loud. That’d be weird.

LIGNIN
Lignin is also very important, since that’s where vanillin (aka vanilla flavour) and spice come from. The more a barrel is charred, the more the lignin yields flavours of spice and smoke.

TANNINS
Tannins should be a fairly familiar word to most by now (if only because we tend to blame them for our red wine headaches). Well before the oak barrel is charred, the oak itself is “seasoned,” allowed to dry out—often in the elements—to get rid of the harsher tannins. But those left over are essential for successful long-term maturation. The higher the char, the mellower the interaction between spirit and tannin.

OAK LACTONES
And then there are the oak lactones. Don’t let the term scare you. They’re compounds present in many species of oak tree, but in higher volume in American oak. And they’re responsible for the woody/coconut flavours you’ll find in many bourbons. The higher the char, the less the impact of the oak lactones.

Char levels aren’t dictated for every kind of spirit, certainly not worldwide, but the amount of fire you subject your barrel to (even if it’s a simple toasting) can have a significant impact on the way the wood interacts with, well, whatever the hell you put inside it.