Tasted #709: Archie Rose "Smoked Cask Series" Cinnamon Smoked Single Malt Whisky

One of the many great things about the Aussie whisky industry is the freedom afforded to (and actively embraced by) its producers. Whilst there are rules, they're less restrictive than (say for example) SWA's rules for Scotch Malt Whisky, and so you tend to find some pretty fun and interesting releases - whiskies matured in woods other than oak, whiskies finished in a plethora of interesting cask types (Ginger Beer Cask, anyone?), and in this case, whisky matured in casks which themselves have been smoked with different botannicals.

"Smoked Cask Series" is the name, and as Archie Rose Master Distiller Dave Withers puts it:

“In Australia, we’re fortunate to be unbound by tradition, which gives us the freedom to be bold and find our own new ways of doing things. With that in mind, this series is all about reimagining what a smoked whisky can be; questioning why the flavour of smoke can only come from the treatment of grains.

We wanted to tackle the question of whether we could bring a different dimension to our whisky by smoking the maturation casks, instead of the grains,” Dave says. “It’s also about testing the boundaries of where that smoke comes from. Conventional smoky whiskies are always made with peat or sometimes timber smoke, but here we have shown that a different set of flavours can be created through the use of aromatic botanicals like the ones we’ve used for this series"

For the series, 4 botanicals (Wattleseed, Juniper, Cinnamon and Lavender) were chosen after 30 different trials. I sat down with “Cinnamon Smoked” (Limited Release No.15) recently, to see what impact this unique form of smoking had on the whisky.

Archie Rose "Smoked Cask Series" Cinnamon Smoke (51.6% ABV, NAS, Sydney, Australia, One of 495 bottles, sold out)

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Colour: Deep toffee brown

Nose: Smoked pineapple, toasted oak, orange zest and hints of charred banana.

Palate: Brings the pineapple from the nose, but more whole oranges than orange zest. Spicy smoke undertones, with some very subtle cinnamon notes.

Finish: Long, warming toasted oak.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100 (Martin). I like Archie Rose's regular single malt spirit, and this is a really fun and tasty twist on it - pairing some of those expected tropical notes with a warming, spicy undertones. This would be great by a fire, as we're getting into winter (shame it's sold out)!

Thanks Mint Partners and Archie Rose for the bottle.


Cheers,
Martin.

Old Master Spirits' A.100 Famille Cabanne Grande Champagne Cognac - 100 Years in Oak! [Tasted #708]

It's been a little while since I've tasted an Old Master Spirits release for the blog, but as a quick refresher for those unfamiliar, OMS was founded by Melbournites Deni Kay and David Vuu to "find liquid treasures from across the globe with a focus on provenance and bottling spirits in their most natural form". Think small, family-run houses, single barrel / limited releases, quality spirit and great value.

5 years on (time flies), David and Deni are celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Old Master Spirits with what can only be described as an incredibly fitting release - a Cognac that's been aged for 100 years in French Oak!

The release in question is the Old Master Spirits A.100 Famille Cabanne 100 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac, and there'll be only 42 bottles available (actually, 41 now as Deni recently opened one).

Distilled in the early 1920s by the Cabanne family in the village of Bourg-Charente, this eau de vie was produced on lees, over direct fire, in a still that's long since been decommissioned (though it still sits at the Cabanne distillery as a heritage piece). It then slumbered for a full century in refill "Seguin Moreau" coarse-grained French oak barrels (themselves ~15 years old when filled), before being bottled in November 2025 at a natural cask strength of 46.6% ABV.

Famille Cabanne itself is a name I wasn't familiar with, but the story goes back to 1810 when Monsieur Francois Cabanne first settled on the banks of the river Charente. Over 200 years and four generations later, the house remains family-owned (as do most of the houses Old Master Spirits work with), with 74 hectares of vines and - incredibly - current stock holdings featuring cognacs dating back to the early 1800s! 

(You can read my thoughts on several of Old Master Spirits' previous releases here — including their Tiffon V.45 Petite Champagne Cognac, previously the oldest spirit independently bottled for Australia)

Made from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes and sitting firmly in the Grande Champagne cru, this release ticks the type of boxes you (or at least I) want in serious old Cognac: natural strength, unfiltered, single estate. 

When you consider that no commercially-available whisky has ever reached 100 years of age (and many of them in the 50+ age bracket require a mortgage), $1,399 AUD for a 100-year-old single-estate Grande Champagne Cognac at cask strength, bottled exclusively for Australia, seems a remarkably fair price

As mentioned, there are just 42 41 bottles in existence, officially launching on 30th April (with 24-hour early access via the OMS mailing list from the 29th). 

...but of course, age, exclusivity, provenance are one thing, but taste is another. Does it live up to expectations? Read on for my thoughts...

Old Master Spirits A.100 Famille Cabanne 100 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac (46.6% ABV, 100yo, Cask Strength, France, One of 42 bottles, $1,399 AUD)

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Colour: Deep dark rich copper (but the first thing you notice is the viscosity - this thing is THICK)

Nose: Immediately jumps out of the glass, with intense prunes, dates, coffee, sweet apricot and mango. I tasted it twice (about a week apart) to see how it evolved with a bit of air in the sample bottle, and the second tasting brought more tropical notes, with the mango stronger on the nose for me.

Palate: All the notes from the nose, but with additional notes of milk chocolate, orange, more mango, peach, cherries. It's super viscous, and feels more flavoursome than 46%, but at the same time incredibly elegant and refined. These are BIG, but very elegant flavours.

Finish: Long, warming, fruity coffee (think Ethiopian Yirgacheffe-like coffee notes), 

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 94/100 (Martin). Honestly, an incredible spirit, genuinely one of the best Cognacs I've ever had.

Thanks Deni & David for the sample.

Cheers,
Martin.

An interview with Sullivans Cove Distillery Manager Heather Tillott, and a tasting of two new releases (Tasted #706 - 707)

It's been a big few weeks for Sullivans Cove - not only have they recently announced, for the first time, a cask strength version of the French Oak (at 17 years, no less - ballot open now), along with a French Oak Apera at nearly 10 years old (sold out), they've also just won a World Whiskies Awards "World's Best" for the fourth time - this time for World's Best Single Cask Single Malt Whisky.

Following their now-legendary 2014 win (and subsequent wins in 2018 and 2019) it was French Oak White Wine Old & Rare TD0112 which took home the award this time, beating out 23 other single cask single malt country-winners to take home the prize.

As if that wasn't enough though, the distillery also took home two further "Icons of Whisky" awards for its people, with Distillery Manager Heather Tillott winning the "Innovator Manager of the Year" award, and Warehouse Manager Marcelo Viapiana winning "Global Warehouse Manager of the Year.

 

It seemed then, like a suitable time to post an interview I held with Heather Tillott last year, when I was lucky enough to join the distillery in celebrating their 25 Year Old whisky milestone.

Martin: 25 years is an incredible achievement for Australian Whisky, but these were distilled at a time when that wasn’t necessarily the goal. 25 years on from that time, has the view towards long-term maturation changed in Australian Whisky and how does Sullivans Cove look at this in particular? Might we see even older Sullivan’s Cove releases in the coming years or decades?

Heather: Quite correct - the goal when these casks were laid down wasn’t to reach 25! The good people in that era of Sullivans were experimenting and learning what it meant to make whisky in Tasmania at that time, and we are very lucky to be able to continue with the work they did so many years ago.

25 years on at Sullivans, we’ve learnt a lot about how to craft spirit that is suited to a variety of ages, and how to nurture casks through the years in order to enable the greatest expressions of each cask to come to life.

While many distilleries founded in more recent years simply haven’t had the time to explore longer term aging, it’s only a matter of time. And while it’s not about an arms race to the highest age statement whisky, it’s also only a matter of time before we see even older Sullivans releases, as this is the nature of the bondstore… Time keeps on moving!

Martin: Since taking over production, how closely did you and your team need to monitor these two casks, or provide any active intervention (eg moving them around the bond store) - to ensure they remained “whisky”, but also didn’t get overpowered by oak and retained the quality Sullivans Cove drinkers expect?

Heather: Very closely. Old spirit can be quite fragile, and so extra care and attention is very important. They’ve both had moves about the bondstores, and both have had a gentle dilution during their maturation. This is an old technique used in Cognac and Scotch to gently reduce proof strength, thus enabling a softer maturation and ensuring the balance of oak remains.

Martin: In recent years as it became clear these tasks would reach 25 years, was 25 years the goal, or were they deemed “ready” (by a tasting panel) then, and it just happened to be at a nice round 25 years?

Heather: We allow each of our casks to tell us when they are ready! It’s a rollercoaster of emotions at times, with some casks in particular, but the end result is a wonderful collaboration of people, place and produce… After all, whisky is a product of agriculture, which means people and place! Thus, we didn’t have a particular age in mind for these two- they both came right on the same tasting panel on the 6th of May. We have a nautical bell which we ring when we decide to decant a cask, it’s in the distillery for all to hear… The bell rang twice that morning.

Martin: As the person responsible for production at  a world-renowned distillery on an island famed for its pristine environment, what is the most important sustainability initiative the Australian whisky industry needs to adopt today to ensure its long-term viability?

Heather: There’s a number of really important environmental initiatives in the operational discussion – irrigation in the field, a move toward organic practices, heat recovery systems in the brewhouse and distillery, co-product relationships with local farmers, sourcing casks closer to home (i.e., Australian wine casks!), etc. And there’s also the equally important considerations in the sustainability conversation around the people and business systems that keep the heartbeat of the industry. There is a range of scale and operations in Australian whisky, with many in the micro space; for us to ensure long-term viability we need an industry which supports all levels of scale, healthy workplaces, healthy businesses, as well as a care for our environment.

Martin: Given your background in winemaking, what's a lesson or technical philosophy you carried with you from the vineyard to the distillery?

Heather: The best advice I’ve ever received was from the world of wine… “Get out of the way.” I.e., don’t try to force the product to be a certain way. Tread gently, get out of the way, and let the magic blossom. It’s the duende!

Martin: Last but not least, it’s been a long day and you reach for something to unwind. Is it wine or whisky?

Heather: At the end of a long day, I like to revisit older bottlings of Sullivans, or high-ester rum. Both hold time to ransom for a while for me – there is nowhere to be other than the moment.

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Sullivans Cove 17 Year Old French Oak Cask Strength (Cask TD0297 (63.1% ABV, Single Malt, 17yo, 1 of 343 bottles, Tasmania, Australia, $2,500AUD)
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Colour: Dark Amber-gold

Nose: Big and robust notes of Blackberries mixed with an old dunnage warehouse.

Palate: Super viscous, with notes of gooey caramel, cigar box, a slight salinity and some meatier notes. There's some fruitier notes too - mature oranges and some berries.

Finish: Long and warming, with toasted oak and caramel chews.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100 (Martin). Given what this cask strength expression gives us in the way of flavour and complexity, hopefully this won't be the last CS release we see from the distillery! Delicious.

Sullivans Cove 9 Year Old French Oak Cask Strength (Cask TD0820 (47.6% ABV, Single Malt, 9yo, 1 of 260 bottles, Tasmania, Australia, $550AUD - sold out)
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Colour: Dark Orange-gold

Nose: Coffee grounds, toffee, fresh oak, flamed oranges and a hint of Eucalyptus.

Palate: Oily, with initial notes of honey, marmalade, and an underlying grassy spearmint. Notes of old oak round things out, but on the whole it's fresh, vibrant and has a lot going on.

Finish: Long and fresh, with the grassy-minty note continuing alongside orange and warming oak.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100 (Martin). I was expecting it to be a tasty dram, but wasn't expecting this much complexity. That was a pleasant surprise.

A big thanks to Heather for her time, and the distillery team for the samples.

 

Cheers,

Martin.

Hellyers Road Aged 22 Years, 21 Years & 12 Years (Tasted #702 - 704)

Happy New Year! Hope you all managed to get some downtime over the holiday period (hopefully with a dram or two in hand).

We're back into it for 2026, kicking off where we left off, with a few more Australian whiskies...

My two trips to Tassie last year (after a 17 year absence) gave me a great opportunity to get back into the Aussie whisky scene I’d been away from for so long - to try a bunch of new distilleries, rediscover old ones, and to connect and re-connect with some great whisky folk in Tassie.

One of those people was Mark from Whisky is my Jam - arguably one of the most knowledgable, passionate and connected people in all of Tasmanian whisky, and also a genuinely great bloke.

On a few occasions Mark took me through a range of Tassie whiskies - some I was experiencing for the first time, and some I hadn't tried in over a decade. In the latter camp was Hellyers Road, which in a "full circle" kind of moment was actually the very first two whiskies I ever wrote about on this blog (over 13 years ago)!

Mark put me in touch with David from Sales & Promotions at the distillery (someone I'd been following on IG for years), who was kind enough to send me a few well-aged samples to re-acquaint myself further. Included were:

• American Oak Aged 22 Years cask #2325.03 (80 bottles, full maturation, 56.5% ABV)
• World Whiskies Awards 2025 Best Australian Single Malt winner Peated Cask Finish Aged 21 Years Cask #20F05C01 (301 bottles, 17 years in ex-Bourbon then 4 years in an ex-peated Hellyers Road cask, 52.5% ABV)
• World Whiskies Awards 2022 Best Australian Single Malt winner American Oak Aged 12 Years (fully matured in 1st Fill ex-Bourbon casks, 46.2%)

Let's dig in...

 

Hellyers Road American Oak Aged 22 Years (Cask #2325.03) (56.5% ABV, Single Malt, 22yo, 1 of 80 bottles, Tasmania, Australia, $1,450AUD)
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Colour: Amber sunset.

Nose: Big and complex - orange / citrus notes and perfume, with some slight hints of peach, treacle and oak.

Palate: Immediate zesty orange peel, followed up by whole orange slices. Some oak spice & marmalade, ginger, and a slight grassy herbaceousness. It's complex, and it all works well. 

Finish: Long, marmalade, stone fruits.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100 (Martin). 

Hellyers Road Peated Cask Finish Aged 21 Years (Cask #20F05C01) (52.5% ABV, Single Malt, 21yo, 1 of 301 bottles, Tasmania, Australia, $1,350AUD)
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Colour: Golden sunset

Nose: Keeps the citrus oil and perfume of the 22yo, but with a subtle underlying campfire note, and more tropical notes (passionfruit mostly).

Palate: The peat smoke is more pronounced on the palate, but the passionfruit and oranges (whole) are there too, in perfect harmony.

Finish: Residual BBQ smoky meatiness, with some final orange zest. Long and lingering.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100 (Martin). Peated cask finishes sometimes don't work too well, but I'm glad to say in this case it works very nicely.

 

Hellyers Road American Oak Aged 12 Years (46.2% ABV, Single Malt, 12yo, Tasmania, Australia, $260AUD)
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Colour: Light golden sunset.

Nose: Bubblegum and Juicyfruit, orange oil, oaked passionfruit

Palate: Follows the nose, with big citrus oil notes, passionfruit, chocolate orange, hints of cinnamon, strawberries and a slight savoury note.

Finish: Long, with a lovely citrus zest that lingers.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100 (Martin). Complex and tasting - wonderful to see how far the spirit has come over the years.

It was great to revisit the distillery that I kicked off this blog with all those years ago, and even better to see the spirit come so far in that time. Thanks Mark for the intro and David for the generous samples.

Cheers,

Martin.

An unforgettable Tassie trip to taste the oldest ever Australian Whiskies [Tasted #700 - 701]

Recently I was one of a fortunate few invited by Sullivans Cove to visit the distillery for the launch of the oldest ever Australian whiskies - the new 25 Year Old single cask Sullivans Coves we announced recently. 

This not really being the sort of thing you say "no" to, I found myself on a Wednesday night heading down to Hobart (staying at the incredibly unique "story-telling" Macq01 hotel, appropriately situated next to Sullivans Cove - the Cove, not the distillery) ahead of the main event on Thursday evening - having just visited 2 weeks earlier on a personal trip, my first time in Tasmania since 2008!

Held at the stunningly renovated distillery in Cambridge, the event brought together makers, writers, whisky lovers and fans of craft and quality for an in-depth discussion into Australian whisky, Sullivans Cove, whisky production, flavour, ingredients, chemistry, the industry, and everything in-between. 

Kicking off with a welcome highball and canapés, guests chatted in the distillery's bar before heading into the private tasting room where our host for the evening was Distillery Manager Heather Tillot (who better than the person responsible for the spirit being produced today, nearing 10 years with the distillery?)

For the next few hours Heather covered all aspects of Sullivans Cove - it's history, future, production nuances, spirit character, and with guests including wine writers and chefs, the questions were varied, considered and prompted fascinating discussion, all with a trio of single cask Sullivans Coves in-hand (the 18yo French Oak from a refill cask, full maturating, was a particular highlight for me).

After a while though, it was time to grab a glass and head into the distillery for a tour, where the discussion continued over a walk through of the mashing, fermenting and distilling processes.

 

Back in our seats, it was time for the main reason we were all gathered - to taste the pair of 25 Year Olds. 

Thoughtfully prepared in two different glass types (a 1920s Blender's Glass for HH0010, alongside a Riedel Veritas for HH0056, with Glencairns on the side should we wish to compare), each dram was accompanied by details on each bottling, as follows:

• Cask HH0010 - 25 Year Old Refill American Oak (300L). 12/10/1999 - 6/5/2025. 47.8% ABV, 349 bottles, $4,500AUD (by ballot or via The Whisky Club.

• Cask HH0056 - 25 Year Old American Oak ex-Bourbon (200L). 16/11/1999 - 6/5/2025. 47.6% ABV. 134 bottles. $4,500AUD (by invitation only) 

Sullivans Cove 25 Year Old American Oak Ex-Bourbon (Cask HH0056) (47.6% ABV, Single Malt, 25yo, 1 of 134 bottles, Tasmania, Australia, $4,500AUD)
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Colour: Medium orange golden.

Nose: Citrus / orange oil, with an undertone of dunnage warehouse "funk" (in a good way). Maple syrup, coconut oak, and vanilla milk chocolate.

Palate: Initially, big funky warehouse notes. I'm immediately reminded of the Aussie whiskies I remember tasting back in 2008, 2009. There's a toasted, bread note too, apricot and more citrus. After a good 20-30min, other notes emerge as the aforementioned notes recede into the background - aged oranges, berries, fruit spice, and even some hints of passionfruit.

Finish: Follows the palate faithfully, long and moreish, with tropical hints at the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 94/100 (Martin). The years have done wonders for this whisky - it's clearly Australian, but with complexity and nuance you don't often see.

Sullivans Cove 25 Year Old American Oak Refill (Cask HH0010) (47.8% ABV, Single Malt, 25yo, 1 of 349 bottles, Tasmania, Australia, $4,500AUD)
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Colour: Deep orange.

Nose: Slight warehouse funk, but more stone fruits, earthiness, and orange peels. After time, more citrus emerges - mandarin and tangerine. 

Palate: Mango, spice and just a hint of old, well-rested oak. Rich and viscous, the age and complexity is clearly evident. The slight earthiness from the nose carries through to the palate, and works well in harmony with the other notes.

Finish: Also follows the palate well, equally long, with delightful tropical hints at the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100 (Martin). Less "overtly Australian" than the HH0056, but every bit as complex and delicious. When this cask was laid down in 1999, 25 years clearly wasn't the goal, but I'm very glad that's how things turned out!

 

With the main event over, it was time to head to the bar to taste some of the many Sullivans Cove releases released over the previous years, that I'd missed out on trying due to living overseas. That included last year's 24 year old (closer in style to HH0056 I found, but with more dried fruit from the Apera maturation), the "dumpy" 21 (delightful), an LMDW Indie and more.

A huge thanks to the distillery for allowing us to be part of this momentous occasion in Australian whisky.

Cheers,

Martin.

TimeforWhisky.com flew to and stayed in Hobart courtesy of Sullivans Cove. 

Sullivans Cove releases Australia's First 25 Year Old Whisky (twice)

Absolutely HUGE news in Australian Whisky today, as Sullivans Cove release not one, but TWO 25 Year Old Australian whiskies - the oldest Australian whiskies ever released. A huge achievement and milestone for the Aussie whisky industry - and new world whisky in general.

Both from single casks laid down in 1999, HH0056 was matured in a 200L ex-Bourbon American Oak barrel, and yielded only 154 bottles at 47.6% ABV, available via invitation only.

HH0010 was matured in a larger 300L Refill American Oak barrel, and yielded 349 bottles at 47.8% ABV, to be available via ballot (and via The Whisky Club).

  

Given most new world whisky distilleries weren’t even around 25 years ago (and the climate in many such locations aren’t as conducive to long maturation as they may be in Scotland), 25 years is an impressive feat.

“To see two of our casks mature out to 25 years is something we did not expect.” said former distillery manager and owner Patrick Maguire, whilst CEO Andy Gaunt noted “This release is more than just a rare single cask, it’s a living record of our history, proof of what patience and conviction can achieve, and a statement of what world whisky has become.”

Having recently tried a few Sullivans Cove releases around 20-21 years old, I can say they carry every bit as much complexity and flavour as their Scottish counterparts, and I look forward to trying the new 25 Year Olds (which I'll be doing in just a few hours!)

Cheers,
Martin.

TimeforWhisky.com interviews Spirit of the Craft Award winners Westward Whiskey, Launceston Distillery, Raasay Distillery & Macaloney's Distillery

We recently posted news on Facebook of a new Spirits Awards (hear us out...), the first from Asia, focusing on smaller producers around the world. "Spirit of Craft Awards" was launched in January of this year, and involves a panel of experts from Asia's bar and drinks media community.

Over three months, entries from across 15 countries – Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Scotland, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, Netherlands, and the U.S. – made their way to Singapore for judging by a panel of 36 judges in early May, with the results announced shortly after.

The full list of 2024/2025 winners can be found here, but we were lucky enough to score an interview with four of the winners, including both "3 Star" winners Isle of Raasay & Launceston Distillery, as well as Westward Distillery (whose whiskies we've covered a few times on the blog) & Macaloney Distillery. 

We wanted to understand what made their whiskies unique, the industry changes they've seen, how they engage customers in an increasingly crowded market, and any learnings they've picked up about running a distillery. So without further ado, we bring the answers from:

• Launceston Distillery Head Distiller / Production Manager - Chris Condon
• Raasay Distillery Co-Founder and Master Distiller - Alasdair Day
• Westward Distillery Master Blender - Miles Munroe; and
• Macaloney's Island Distillery President & Master wheiskymaker - Dr Graeme Macaloney

The view from Raasay Distillery's warehouse

1. There’s a lot of great whisky out there, and a lot of distilleries who’ve opened in the past 5-10 years. In a sentence of two, what makes yours stand out?

• Launceston: "We are a boutique whisky distillery, solely focussed on producing hand-crafted single malts. Our location in a restored heritage-listed aircraft hangar is an obvious point of difference. We also try to stay true to ourselves, an independent distillery that strives to consistently make high quality small batch whisky."

• Raasay: "We do everything on Raasay - using water from our well at the distillery for mashing, fermentation, cooling, cask reduction and reduction to bottling strength. We mature all of our spirits in our own warehouses and bottle everything on site, where we now employ over 40 people who live on Raasay (an island with a population of only 161!). Our community and island are a constant source of inspiration, seen in the bespoke Isle of Raasay bottles with hand printed rock and fossil formations from our complex geology. Our spirit directly reflects and truly represents the island where it is created."

• Westward: "At Westward, which is located in the heart of the American Northwest we’re beholden to whiskey, not the traditions that surround it. Westward is brewed like a Pale Ale, distilled like a Single Malt, and aged like a Bourbon. Our whiskeys are matured to perfection in Oregon, one of the most fertile barley-growing regions in the world, where our unique hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters are the ideal environment to raise a world class whiskey."

• Macaloney's: "The World Whiskies Awards (WWAs) in the UK are the most competitive in the world and conducted via blind tasting with industry-experienced judges. At these, our whisky and new-make underpinning our whiskies have won 3 'World's Best' and 8 'Category Best' gold medals. Our growing repeat sales, in Taiwan, across Europe, and elsewhere (we are interested to find a distributor for Australia) in an economic climate where Scotch sales are down, speaks to the excitement and interest in high quality whiskies with real craft provenance like ours."

Launceston Distillery

2. How have you seen the industry change in the time since you started?

• Launceston: "There has been tremendous growth in the Tasmanian industry. The number of distilleries has doubled in that time. But consumers are now more aware of Tasmanian spirits, and there has been international recognition for the quality of whisky coming from Tasmania."

• Raasay: "There have been some massive changes in the industry in Scotland since we founded R&B Distillers in July 2014. At that time there were only 90 operating distilleries in Scotland selling single malt whisky. Now there are over 150 malt and grain distilleries. There have been huge steps forward in technology since we designed our process for our Isle of Raasay distillery particularly in sustainable technology."

• Westward: "Westward began in 2004. At the time, there were just 3 dozen craft distilleries in the U.S. Today, we’re proud to be a leader among more than 3,000. With that, it means that to truly stand out you have to have a distinct point of view, excellent quality credentials, and an innovative approach."

• Macaloney's: "There has been a lot more interest in craft single malt as enthusiasts look for greater quality, yearn to understand what creates the flavours, and are interested in genuine provenance. Also connoisseurs have come to realise that quality is not tied to age and that deep complex maturation comes from best distilling practices and the best oak casks."

Westward's Miles Munroe

3. As a craft distillery, what’s the best way to engage new and potential fans?

• Launceston: "For people who are not familiar with our whisky, nothing beats giving them a taste. Therefore, award programs like SOcraft provide valuable recognition and exposure, which gives new customers the confidence to taste our whisky for the first time."

• Raasay: "We are creating experiences for all of our guests who visit our Isle of Raasay distillery. The adventure starts when you make the 25 minute ferry crossing from Sconser on Skye to the Isle of Raasay, then a short walk (and an even shorter drive) to the distillery. We have six luxury ensuite bedrooms, a restaurant, residents lounge and a bar all with amazing views looking back over the Sound of Raasay to the Cuillin Mountains on Skye. It's the perfect place to relax with a Raasay dram, gin or a cocktail and soak up the full Isle of Raasay experience!"

• Westward: "We’re lucky to have won a host of awards and accolades, including the distinction as the #5 whisky in the world by Whisky Advocate. Those major acknowledgements – and the recognition of global authorities in whisky like Dave Broom, Becky Paskin, and others — have certainly helped us discover new fans and followers. We also love sharing what it is that we do with whiskey enthusiasts and visitors to the distillery, and proudly serves as an ‘open book’ in our approach to whiskey-making. This approach to transparency – where no question is off-limits – really helps us stay engaged with our customers."

• Macaloney's: "Liquid to lips! We love to send ambassadors in to whisky clubs or into whisky stores for vertical tastings, and to festival masterclasses where enthusiasts can taste our quality and hear our story."

Macaloney Distillery tour

4. What’s your “go to” or everyday whisky from your line-up, and why? What about your “special occasion” whisky?

• Launceston: "Our tawny cask matured whisky is a great everyday whisky. It has lovely fruity aromas and flavours, a rich smooth mouthfeel, and a finish that a judge recently compared to a ‘friendly bear hug’. It sips well neat,  but also has nice complexity that works well with cocktails. On special occasions we like our peated release. It is mildly peated with sweet bourbon and tawny influences to balance the smoke. This makes it very approachable, even for people who don’t like peat."

• Raasay: "My "go to" whisky from our line-up is our signature Isle of Raasay Hebridean single malt as this represents everything we do on Raasay. 80% of our annual production is filling the casks for our unique Na Sia cask recipe - we mature 6 separate cask types and marry these together at bottling to created our lightly peated style with dark fruit flavours. My "special occasion" whisky is our fully matured Columbian Oak 'Quercus humboldtii' cask single malt. This has a depth of flavour and texture ranging from Creme brulee to oolong tea. It is very special indeed and a very unique cask type to the Scotch Whisky industry."

• Westward: "The one to always reach for is Westward Whiskey Original, this is what began the innovative journey we’re still on. Our flagship whiskey is the trunk of the tree with almost all other variations branching off from this starting point.  It envelops everything about why we do what we do at Westward in the bottle.  My special occasion pour is most certainly Westward Whiskey Milestone.  Without a doubt the most elegant single malt we’ve produced, it's a marriage of our most highly prized casks and carefully blended over years in a twenty-one barrel Solera system."

• Macaloney's: "Thats a tough question partly because there are all my babies, plus we uniquely distill 3 very different styles - Single malt, Triple distilled pot still, and Peated single malt (smoked at our distillery). Of the single malts i love the an loy because like japanese single malts it is delicate and nieuanced  but with great depth and bapanced complexity. For the triple pot still it has to be the kildara becuase it defeated 27 year old, 21 yo, 15yo and 12 yo redbreast irish whiskies to win worlds best!, And for the peated a favorite is hard to choose becuase the 15ppm an aba is delicately sherried, whereas the 27 ppm siol dugall is fantastic for its virgin and bourbon-wood influence, whereas our peat project sugar kelp infused 54ppm peated single cask is a spectacular exploration of terroir and merroir!"

Westward Distillery

5. When you were growing your distillery, which was more important - on-premise or off-premise / retail?

• Launceston: "Both cannot be overlooked, and I would suggest they are as important as each other.  On-premise allows for new consumers to try our whisky without the outlay of a bottle purchase, however the retail space needs to be considered to give the consumer the easiest path to purchase once they have enjoyed it in a bar or restaurant."

• Raasay: "All of our sales channels are very important to us. On-premise is where new and potential fans can discover our Isle of Raasay Hebridean single malt & gin, seeing our bottle stand out on the back bar and enjoy their first dram. Off-premise / retail is where fans and lovers of Isle of Raasay can acquire our spirits, satisfy their signature Raasay desires and seek out our latest special releases."

• Westward: "Great question, and this has changed of course drastically through Covid and beyond. We look for a mix of both at Westward. We’re fortunate to have many enthusiasts in the bar world who respect what we do, and that is an excellent path for consumer discovery. But we also recognize that our whiskey needs to be available for a consumer who then wants to shop for our products.."

• Macaloney's: "Off premise however i now realize our whiskies are amazing in cocktails so bars will be important going forward."

Launceston Distillery's "Angus"

6. What’s one thing you wish you knew about running a distillery before you began?

• Launceston: "Sometimes the romance of running a distillery can be very different to the reality. It can be hard work and it requires patience and perseverance. But when everything comes together after years of maturation it is well worth the effort."

• Raasay: "How difficult it can be to stay focused on our key messaging and continuously, consistently preach that key messaging to the world. "

• Westward: "With Westward, we’re always planning several years ahead. The whiskey we make today won’t see the light of day for at least half a decade (give or take), and so we are always a step ahead. That includes some of our expansion efforts – like our capacity increase we recently underwent."

• Macaloney's: "HOW HARD IT IS TO MAKE A PROFIT AFTER ALL THE COSTS AND TAXES!"

A stunning vista from Raasay Distillery

 

 

Thanks must go to Chris, Alasdair, Miles & Dr Graham for the time and answers, and to the great team at Food News Singapore for coordinating the responses & media.

Cheers,

Martin.