Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky

Written By Campbell Mattinson
Bottle of Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky.

Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky
AU$98, 46% alcohol, Sydney.

I walked into a local (chain) bottle shop today (August 2026) and bought a 700ml bottle of this Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky for AU$80. This was the Special Members Price, but membership is free. Given the taste of this whisky, and the mouthfeel, and the flow of the finish – not to mention its outstanding list of awards – there’s an argument to say that at full AU$98 RRP this is one of, if not the, best value Australian whisky on the market. At AU$80 it is Australia’s best value whisky – the only proviso being that you have to enjoy or be in the market for a rye. As is well known: this is made with malted rather than with unmalted rye (and malted barley), and is matured for three years in new or virgin American oak. The batch I bought was labelled B25.

The amount of wood character on the nose, in particular, is both significant and stunning. Butter, cream, roasted nuts and a distinct caramel fudge-like note results in one helluva delicious cloud of scent. The palate is more serious, and less woody, and has very good intensity, though when I say that it’s less woody: there’s still a butter-and-cream element, seductively so, matched to ginger, brine, smoked hay and roasted stonefruit characters. This is a bloody good Rye Whisky, full stop, and not just because it’s affordable. 93 points – Campbell Mattinson.

Campbell Mattinson

This post was written by Campbell Mattinson. Mattinson is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of The Winefront business. He is the author of five books on wine – four of which were bestsellers (The Wine Hunter, the Big Red Wine Book 2008, the Big Red Wine Book 2009, and the Big Red Wine Book 2010).

Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.

Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the national Best Australian Sports Writing Award. In 2026 three of his photographs were short-listed for the World Food Photography Awards.

Campbell Mattinson, who is 100% independent, has tasted between 5000 and 10,000 wines each and every year for the past 25 years. He tastes blind, in comparative brackets, as often as is practicable.

Campbell Mattinson is a journalist, a photographer, a filmmaker and a wine critic. In all of these mediums his prime motive is to tell people's stories.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com