Record-breaking 25-year-old Sullivans Cove Tasmanian malt is a singular sensation
A Tasmanian distillery that shocked the world by beating Scotland at its own game has unveiled an extraordinary milestone – the nation’s first 25-year-old whisky.
Twenty-five years after the most significant moment in the history of Australian whisky, the nation finally got to celebrate it properly.
On October 23, 2000, a single cask of French oak was filled in the Sullivans Cove distillery on Hobart’s waterfront.
It was coded HH0525 in the prosaic procedural way distilleries keep track of these things and set aside to begin its lengthy maturation.
The whisky that would evolve within those staves changed the course of Australian distilling. In 2014 the whisky that had emerged from that cask was crowned the World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards in London.
It was the first Australian whisky to take out the prestigious award and its impact was seismic.
“I liken it to the Judgment of Paris tasting back in the 1970s,” says Sullivans Cove chief executive Andy Gaunt, referencing the famous event in 1976 where English wine writer Steven Spurrier put a collection of American wines alongside the great French classics in a blind tasting and the French judges overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Americans.
“It was a really big deal,” explains Gaunt.
“It was the first time a distillery outside of Scotland or Japan had won the award, and it changed the global perception of Australian whisky overnight.”
It’s appropriate then that Sullivans Cove chose the 25th anniversary of the filling of that famed cask to releases two whiskies that, like their celebrated forerunner, will change the Australian whisky landscape forever.
In October of 1999, a 300-litre American oak ex-bourbon cask was filled at Sullivans Cove. A month later, a slightly smaller cask – 200 litres – of similar provenance was filled. On Wednesday night in Hobart, those casks gave up their contents and a new chapter in the Australian whisky story was written.
Cask HH0010, being the older by a month, can claim the title of the oldest Australian whisky ever released, but they break new ground as a pair with no Australian whisky having ever been bottled with such significant age.
For a relatively young industry, these two plant a flag for Australian whisky, proving to the world that “the water of life” runs deep in this corner of the whisky world.
Both are released in tiny quantities. HH0056 yielded only 134 bottles, all to be sold by invitation to purchase. HH0010 is slightly more abundant at 349 bottles, and will be sold by a ballot to be conducted in coming days.
Starting at $4500 a bottle, they’re not cheap, but the price aligns with their rarity, provenance and their place in history.
Sarah Kingston Clark, Tourism Tasmania chief executive, sees benefits beyond the bottle.
“This extraordinary release speaks to the very soul of Tasmanian whisky – shaped by our pristine environment, our climate, and a culture of patience and craft.
“Sullivans Cove not only elevates Tasmania’s reputation on the global stage for world-class whisky but also reminds visitors that some of the most remarkable stories of flavour and time are being written here on our island.”
Tasting Notes
Sullivans Cove 25 Years Single Cask American Oak Second Fill (HH0010). $4500.
This is symphonic spirit, exuberant, complex, finely layered and staggeringly long. Cataloguing aromas and flavours requires pages, not inches, but an attempt follows anyway. Baked quince, pistachio crumble, vanilla custard. Cumquat marmalade and shortbread. There’s even a fine seam of minty chocolate lurking in its depths.
It’s rich and rounded, with a real presence on the palate but age has rounded it off beautifully and its edges long since buffed away by passing time.
99 points
Sullivans Cove 25 Years Single Cask American Oak Second Fill ( HH0056) $N/A
HH0056 imposes its wood a little more. It’s tighter, finer, dryer than its counterpart, but equally beautiful.
Polished cedar, the burnished leather stretched across antique chairs. Clove studded oranges, caramalised banana and spearmint. Warm, woody spices and a scattering of roasted nuts.
Perfectly poised, intricately detailed. A mansion of infinite treasures.
99 points
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout