If you’ve kept an eye on the Australian whisky industry over the last five years or so, you’ll be aware of huge, dynamic change. We’ve seen more than 30 new distilleries bring their debut release to market. We’ve seen large-scale distilling emerge, and we’ve seen corporate and investment money now backing many distilleries. We’ve also seen companies with main interests in other categories of the drinks industry add whisky-making to their portfolio (e.g Angoves, Morris, Bickfords, and Coopers). And we’ve seen new blended whisky products appear with malt whisky being blended with grain whisky (wheat) to produce cheaper and more widely available bottlings. We’ve also seen more contract distilling occurring, and we’ve seen an increasing number of Australian independent bottlers appear. With all the change and all the noise around some of the above developments, you could be forgiven for overlooking some of the long-established names who’ve just quietly gone about their business. Hellyers Road is one such distillery. Continue reading “Hellyers Road”
Tag: Tasmania
Waubs Harbour – Australia’s maritime whisky
With so many new Australian distilleries appearing on the market these days, it’s a challenge keeping up with them all. Whilst there’s no definitive or official number, industry folk estimate there’s currently around 120-140 malt whisky distilleries operating in Australia right now. Of course, the number of distilleries with matured stock being marketed and sold is somewhat less than this (estimates hover somewhere around 90), but the point is this: It’s an increasingly crowded space, and it’s become increasingly challenging for a distillery to stand out from the pack; find its point of difference; and tell a new story. One name that’s definitely singing a new tune is the Waubs Harbour distillery, and its Waubs Harbour whisky.
Waubs Harbour distillery is in Tasmania and, as the name suggests, is located in a coastal location by the water. This geographical fact forms the heart and backbone of Waubs Harbour and its narrative: It is a maritime distillery. The word “maritime” appears almost more times on the distillery’s website than the word “whisky”, and until you’ve checked out the distillery’s location, you could be forgiven for thinking they’re laying it on a bit thick. By drawing comparisons to the likes of Talisker and other Scottish distilleries that talk up the maritime angle, my initial thoughts were that they were overplaying it. And then you see the pictures….
Continue reading “Waubs Harbour – Australia’s maritime whisky”
Visiting the distilleries of Tasmania
Are you a fan of Tasmanian whisky? Thinking of visiting Tasmania for a whisky trip, or organising your own Tasmanian whisky tour? Read on…