Sullivans Cove French Oak Single Tawny Cask Tasmanian single malt whisky has become a legend in its own right, one of the most sought after whiskies in the world, and the bottle that put the Australian whisky industry on the map after winning World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards in 2014.
Aged in 300L French oak casks previously used to mature Australian tawny port-style fortified wine, this whisky has rich flavours of Christmas spice, chocolate, dried fruit and complex oak. As a single cask bottling, every tiny batch is different, expressing the unique characteristics of each barrel.
Herbal elements worthy of adoration, a depth that only comes with a cask of this age, and all the while still bright, perfumed and tropical – nothing less than a wonder.
‘TD0070 is ambrosia – nectar of the gods.’
Kirsten Laurie – Production Manager
Matured for 17 years in a second-fill 300L French oak cask, yielding just 439 bottles of Sullivans Cove single cask whisky.
Nose
An immediate and pleasurable whack of date slice and sticky date pudding takes over the narrative, and all else that follows on the nose is layered with brown sugar. Tangelo peel, gingernut cookies and nutmeg give a bright but grounded spiced perfume, with talcum powder supporting; the telltale spice of French Oak. There’s a deeply sweet, earthy and herbal character to the mid and base notes, to the point of confection: cola, roasting beetroot, walnuts, banana bread, red jellybeans. A soft edge of dustiness tells us that this cask has seen many a moon rise.
Palate
A full body emerges with creamy texture and very well integrated oak. A subtle hint at a Tawny past life pokes its head around a corner, and disappears again to make way for a gorgeous spirit and oak marriage: red jellybeans, black cat lollies (anise!), bright sherbet, candied kumquat, dark cherries, ginger jam and a lovely herbal note of bay leaf.
Finish
The ginger continues through to the finish, born of the oak, but interestingly this too is a little spoken of trait of Sullivans new-make. The confection theme continues with again the black cat lollies and candied orange peel. Bay leaves re-appear, along with white pepper and a lovely sweet earthy note. A fun tropical burst sees dried mango and a hint of paw-paw amongst liquorice and a the sweet earthy note deepens into full blown herbal liqueur territory (almost Fernet-Branca-esque), which rides us off into the sunset.
