$159.00
Balga Barrel Limited Reserve Whiskey
An exquisite expression of craftsmanship and heritage, matured in barrels made from the native Australian Balga tree. This unique aging process imparts a distinctive flavor profile with deep, resinous notes, complemented by a subtle smokiness and hints of the bushland’s natural flora. The palate is rich and complex, featuring layers of spice, dark chocolate, and a touch of sandalwood, which gracefully unfold with each sip. Balga Barrel Whiskey is a tribute to the untamed beauty of Australia’s landscapes and a celebration of tradition redefined, making it a must-have for connoisseurs seeking a truly unique whiskey experience.
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Description
Inspired By
John F. Sohier
Year
1848 – 1933
Crimes
Theft. Resisting Arrest. Fugitive
Spirit
Whiskey
Distilled
Balga Barrel
In his final moments, whiskey on his breath, he left his son with these words. “Out there, is Freedom. Here, is a Prison. I have served my sentence, and now I can finally be free. Lay me down. Give me a cigarette. Then leave. Do not be imprisoned like me. Be free.”
Inspired by our Great (Great Great) Uncle, a man who desired above all else to be free.
It was during rough seas on the approach to the eastern coast that the crashing waves
masked the pain breaking of his own hands to slip his chain
& leap from the bow of the tallship into the tempestuous oceans below.
Assumed dead the ship carried on, but the locals who found him broken disagreed.
He was nursed back to health with traditional bush medicines, found a place, a people, a life,
& a love with the people of that land. A life in the bush. A love of country.
He had, finally, found the freedom he had always dreamed of.
moving with the land, the stars for a blanket, the earth for a bed.
It was by chance he was spotted by local rangers who took it upon themselves
to save him from the savages that held him captive.
Raping, torturing, & murdering them all.
Heartbroken & refusing to talk, it wasn’t long before his true identity was discovered.
He was arrested & sent to the east coast settlements to serve an addition 7 years for his crimes.
left his heart & soul in the outback of Western Australia that fateful day when his family was slaughtered in the settlers attempt to save him. Even after he served his sentence he would never be the same.
Blaga has been interpreted to mean, ‘ one that is connected to and the one that posses;
no one will truly understand what he had, what he knows and what he lost.
Leaden Hearts Balga Barrel Whiskey is the only spirit of its find in the world.
Matured in handmade barrels crafted from the trunk of the Balga tree
native only to Australia, the coutnry he loved the most,
& the only place he ever found freedom – except in death.
With the smell of whiskey on his breath, the final conversation he had with his son ended with these words,
‘Out there, is Freedom. Here, is a Prison.
I have served my sentence, & now I can finally be free.
Lay me down. Give me a cigarette. Then Leave. Do not be imprisoned like me. be free.
In honor of him, all he stood for, & all who share his free spirit,
this is for You.
There are men born for freedom, though the chains they wear would tell you otherwise. J.F. Sohier was one of them—a man whose spirit refused to be caged, even as iron shackles bound his body aboard The Manlius, a convict ship bound for Van Diemen’s Land.
As the ship battled tempestuous seas nearing the eastern coast of Australia, he seized the storm as his accomplice. The crashing waves masked the sharp, wrenching sound of his own bones breaking, a necessary sacrifice to slip the steel. And with the cold wind whipping against his face, he leapt from the bow into the unforgiving ocean below.
Presumed lost to the depths, the ship sailed on, but the land had other plans. Found battered and half-dead on a remote shore, J.F. was nursed back to health by locals who saw not a convict but a man in need. Their bush medicines mended his body, and their ways taught him to live in harmony with the land. Here, among the wild and the wisdom, he found something he had only dreamed of: freedom.
His days were spent roaming the bush, his nights beneath a canopy of stars. The earth cradled him, the sky sang him to sleep, and for the first time, he was whole. But this peace was not to last.
Settlers, stumbling upon him among the people who had saved him, misread the bond they shared. Mistaking J.F. for a captive, they unleashed a brutality that knew no mercy. They slaughtered the family he had come to love in their misguided attempt to “save” him.
Silent with grief, his true identity soon discovered, J.F. was arrested and returned to the penal colony to serve another seven years. But even after the sentence was served, he was a man forever altered. His heart remained in the outback of Western Australia, with the people who had shown him freedom and the life that was stolen in an instant.
J.F.’s legacy endures in every bottle of Balga Barrel Whiskey. Matured in barrels made from the Balga tree—native only to Australia—the whiskey carries the spirit of the land he loved and the freedom he sought, even unto death.
This whiskey is his story, his legacy, and an ode to all who carry the fire of freedom in their hearts.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands where our stories were born, where our ancestors walked, and where our spirits find home. We honour the people whose lands hold the tools of our trade, where steel meets hand, where the work we do carries forward.
But it does not stop there.
Our work, our journeys, and our lives stretch across many Countries, guided by the wisdom of the land and the knowledge of those who have cared for it since time immemorial. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, to the knowledge keepers, the storytellers, and the custodians of culture.
Leaden Hearts is built on the belief that the past is not gone – it walks with us. Every road we take, every bottle we pour, every machine we restore is tied to the deep songlines of this Country. We walk gently, listen deeply, and give back where we can—because to live and work here is to carry a responsibility, one that stretches beyond us.
We acknowledge the sacred connection between people, land, and story, and we commit to honouring that connection in all that we do.
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