Tasmania Distillery Tasting Notes

Sullivans Cove American Oak Cask Matured 47.5%

Tasted: Sept 2016

Nose: Tight, grainy oak to start, but it opens to show a good depth of fragrant barley, wood spice, violets, oxidised fruit, peat and vanilla.

Palate: Full and barley’d with lashings of summer fruit, apricot and apple. A little tannic on the middle with some gritty spices but the oils and the vanilla oak balance.

Finish: Intense and herbal, quite mouth-watering with lingering gritty oak and vanilla.

Conclusion: Finally an Australian whisky that is not blasted by sherry and appears to have spent more than 5 minutes in a cask. I’ll drink to that!

Sullivans Cove 11 year old French Oak Cask 47.5%

The Tasmania Distillery was established in 1994 on the banks of the River Derwent at Sullivans Cove, the site where the British settlers planted their flag and began to build the settlement that became the City of Hobart, Australia’s oldest city.

Tasted: Feb 2013

Nose: Pungent aromas of cod liver oil and youthful cereal. Hints of sugar coated citrus mingles with lemon oil and a touch of rose petal marc.

Palate: Oily, opening with some light woody notes and sugar coated cereal. The alcohol builds along with the spices and a touch of rose petal marc emerges.

Finish: Quite sweet with a hint of citrus and a lot of marc/ spirit.

Conclusion: Not entirely convinced about this. Quite hard work

Sullivans Cove 12 year old French Oak Cask 47.5%

Tasted: Jan 2014

Best Australian Single Malt

Nose: A very appealing nose of lightly tropical fruit coated in honey and dusted with pollen. A little boiled sweet-esque marc note appears along with hints of coconut and barley. Exquisitely balanced.

Palate: Lightly oiled with plenty of oily malt and dusty spices. The palate shows some maturity and developing tobacco, sweet spices and a touch of dried fruit, treacle and more malt!

Finish: Long, crisp and quite citrus with the rose petal notes returning.

Conclusion: Very pleasant. It gives the impression of being triple distilled. In the mix as they say!

Sullivans Cove 12 year old French Oak Cask 47.5%

Re-Tasted: Dec 2014

Nose: Delicious aromas of sweet-ish raspberry jam and earth. Not over sweet with hints of dried fig, sultana, pomegranate and grainy/ dusty spice. Some sweet barley emerges along with a touch of pepper, chocolate and tea leaves.

Palate: Gently winey with soft, slightly oily red fruit, figs and pomegranate. Lovely balance with hints of barley, herbs and grainy oak. The sweet raspberry note sits in the background and a touch of camphor comes through on the middle.

Finish: Long and extremely juicy. The French oak-like tannins come through with a lovely chocolaty character but the ever present raspberry continues to sweeten.

Conclusion: Excellent balance. Wine cask finished? (Tasted Blind)

Sullivans Cove 12 year old French Oak Cask 47.5%

Re-Tasted: Feb 2015

Nose: Oily apricot and sultana with some edgy boiled sweet notes along with an almost Cognac-esque character (a finish?) Quite high toned with the boiled sweet notes beginning to dominate.

Palate: Soft and lightlky smoked with a touch of sweet honey and barley. The boiled sweet note is not as dominating on the palate, which allows the juicy fruit to show.

Finish: Long with lingering rose petal and boiled sweet notes.

Sullivans Cove 14 year old American Oak Cask 47.5%

Tasted: Dec 2014

Nose: Generous and fruity with musky apricot and pineapple along with slabs of heather honey, lightly gristy barley and pollen heavy flowers. The American oak is very well integrated and supportive.

Palate: Opens with soft honey coated barley and ginger. A lovely combination of pure heather honey and set honey. Add in a touch of malt and oak and the mix is superb.

Finish: Long and lightly herbal with oiled vanilla and herbal spices.

Conclusion: The purity of honey and barley is very impressive.

The Tasmanian Distillery ‘The Exile’ 2000 (15 year old) French Oak 62%

Aged in Sullivans Cove HH0556 French oak barrel.

Tasted: Feb 2016

Nose: Full and very estery with loads of perfumed tropical fruit, honey, guava and melon. Fresh oak shavings mingle with intensely straw-like barley.

Palate: Light, almost grainy dried fruit, then a huge hit of sweet, honeyed apricot, white fruit, white chocolate and dusty barley. And not forgetting the huge vanillery oak too!

Finish: A little hot and spirity with lingering bublegummy fruit and almost rye-like herbal notes.

Conclusion: Impressive, but possibly a little over perfumed.