William McHenry’s whisky vision realised

HERE’S one we’ve all been waiting for: William McHenry’s first whisky release from his own distillery.

Whisky/Gin brewer from Port Arthur William McHenry and his distiller he is building

HERE’S one we’ve all been waiting for: William McHenry’s first whisky release from his own distillery.

His earlier Three Capes single-malt release was whisky bought from a previous incarnation of Tasmanian Distillery and it helped build his business – as did his own distilled gins, which keep winning awards and acclaim along the way. But now his whisky, after five years in their barrels, is ready.

It’s a dream come true for the former Sydney-based pharmaceuticals industry high-flyer, who quit his 30-year career after wondering what it all meant.

And while many men buy a sports car in these moments, McHenry and his family packed up their things, moved to Tasmania and bought a still six years ago, with McHenry on a quest to create a legacy for his children.

“The only place you can make the quality of whisky I want to make is in Tasmania,” he said.

McHenry is thinking there might be a ballot to allocate some of the 500ml bottles of his new, eponymous single-malt to buyers, with the first 100 bottle-release in May.

The whisky starts in a 100-litre American oak Makers Mark bourbon barrel before being finished in a sherry barrel.

“It’s on the sweet end, delicate,” McHenry says of the taste. “It’s a more light, floral note than some of the heavier, more robust Tasmanian whiskies. Because we’ve got a relatively tall still, we are able to collect some more of the delicate lighter notes.

“It’s going to have the classic vanilla, bourbon spiciness from the bourbon barrels but because we finished it with sherry it’s got this nice round plummy note on the end. And we are bottling it as 42 per cent [alcohol], so it’s not aggressive on the palate in terms of alcohol but it’s got enough to give it a long finish.”

McHenry will have a new release about every three months after May, with more and more becoming available.

“Within three years of this first release we will have about a hundred 100-litre barrels each year,” he says.

“Happiness is having a rare steak, a bottle of whisky and a dog to eat the rare steak.” – Johnny Carson

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