The spirit of Tasmania

Think Tasmania and you immediately think pristine wilderness, rich history and bounteous produce from land and sea. Increasingly though, the Apple isle is attracting worldwide attention for its whisky, not to mention its gin, but that’s for another story. The estimated 12-17,000 litres of whisky that Tasmania produces per annum is a mere drop in the ocean compared to Scotland or the US, the world’s top two producers. But like many things when it comes to Tasmania, it’s less about size and more about substance. Whether it’s the famously pure water, the barley grown in a pristine environment, or the collective can-do creativity of its distillers, the island State is winning over not just whisky judges, but the hearts and palates of whisky aficionados worldwide. 

Any time is a good time to visit, but for those wanting to revel in the whiskey scene, Tasmanian Whisky Week is the perfect time to head south to the Apple Isle, with masterclasses, tastings, dinners and other events runs from 08-14 August, 2022.

Or, explore the many and varied distilleries in Tasmania along The Tasmanian Whisky Trail and Spirits Trail which features 50 distilleries all over Tasmania, from traditional makers to envelope-pushers, with cellar doors offering tastings and sometimes behind-the-scenes tours. 

Here are three of the best that anyone fond of a ‘dram’ should certainly explore on their next visit to Van Diemen’s Land – designated driver a must.

The Groundbreaker

Bill Lark is often referred to as ‘the godfather of Tasmanian distilling’. While a law prohibiting whisky distilling in Tasmania, instigated by governor John Franklin in 1838 was repealed in 1901, the license requirement of a minimum still size of 2700 litres made it prohibitive for small distillers. It was Lark who successfully lobbied for a change to the law and in 1992 applied for, and received the first licence to distil spirits in Tasmania since 1839.

In the 30 years since, Lark Distilling Company has expanded exponentially, recently acquiring the historic Shene Estate at Pontville for a new distillery, cooperage and bond store, in order to expand production and keep up with ever-growing demand, both locally and overseas.

Lark admits his whisky preferences are firmly old-school. 

“Whilst I love the Australian innovative style our industry has adopted, I am personally quite a traditionalist. When Lyn and I started we realised that there was little potential to try to enter the “blended Scotch” market, but if we could make a high-quality single malt whisky, especially a single cask whisky, then even at small volumes we could compete with other international whisky regions,” Lark says. 

“I really got into this because I loved my Scottish single malts, and I simply wanted to see if we could make an equally good Tasmanian single malt whisky, using Tasmanian ingredients and see what the market thought of it.” 

It turns out he could and the market would be highly appreciative, with Lark whiskies, made using Tasmanian-grown barley smoked over peat from the distillery’s own bog, consistently being awarded medals in international and local competitions. 

Australia’s Southernmost Distillery

At Port Arthur, in Tasmania’s south, there is nothing but 5000 kilometres of ocean and sky between McHenry Distillery and the next landfall, Antarctica.

“I’d say we found the perfect place on the planet to make whisky,” says owner Bill McHenry. “The property we're on has its natural springs, with soft, sweet, pure water that never stops flowing and we have some of the best barley in the world coming from our farmers in Tasmania.” 

The family-run McHenry Distillery has been a going concern for the last decade, Bill, a self-taught distiller, who leaned on his scientific background and love for whisky to learn the art. McHenry produces three single malt whiskies, generally aged for more than seven years. 

“We'll go into our bond stores and climb over all the barrels to take samples to put through a tasting panel. They then select the barrels they think are ready. And if they don't all agree, we close the door on the bond store and we wait for another two or three years,” he says.

Water, barley, and age aside, McHenry credits the weather for Tasmania’s ability to produce premium whisky. 

“The core temperate in Tasmania doesn't get that cold in the winter and it’s not too hot in the summer, which means we don't lose much through ‘the angel share’ (evaporation). This allows us to keep the spirit in the barrel for a considerable amount of time and produce some of the best whiskies in the world.”

The World’s Best Single Malt

At the prestigious World’s Whiskies Award in 2014, Tasmania’s Sullivans Cove Distillery took out the world’s best single malt whisky, pitted against distillers such as Bunnahabain, Aberfeldy, Glenkinchie and Glenlivet and Japan’s Yamazaki. 

“It was a real watershed moment for our humble distillery and Tasmanian whisky, to beat distilleries from around the world that literally produced tens of millions times more,” says Sullivans Cove MD, Adam Sable. 

“I think the industry has been very much on an upward trajectory ever since.”

Sullivans Cove, who focus on producing premium single cask whiskies, also won best single malt, single barrel whisky in 2018 and 2019, making it the only distillery in the world to have won the award twice.

Generally, their whisky is aged in 300-litre Australian ex-fortified wine casks or 200 litre ex-Bourbon casks, and the maturation process is very much a hands-on, heart-led business, Sable says. 

“We almost have a personal relationship with each barrel. We nurture it. We sample it at regular intervals. Our distillery manager, Heather, often talks about it as ‘doing the ward rounds’. We're not governed by a particular age profile though, so we’ll only bottle our whiskey when it's ready. If one happens to be ready at nine or 10 years old, that’s it.  Or we might choose to let one go until it's 17, 18 or 19 years old.”

While Sable concedes that Tasmania’s ‘well-documented’ pure water and mild climate are extremely conducive to whisky making and maturation, he believes the human element shouldn’t be underestimated.

“In Scotland, they've been making whisky for a very long time, often focused on efficiency, very much in automated setups. In Australia, in terms of modern-day distilling, we're a relatively young industry and I think our attitude of using what we have – for example locals brewers barley, and just ‘giving it a go’, has resulted in us experimenting with some different things, going down a slightly different path. The results are fantastic whisky.”