Hello, whisky.

It’s said that the art of distillation has its roots back in the time of the ancient Babylonians. Evidence of distillation activity as far back as 2000 BC suggests humans have been on the drink for ages. These were crude spirits though, and it was not until thousands of years later, in the 15th Century, that this art would eventually bubble away in Scotland and Ireland and lead to a new spirit known as whisky. In these regions, barley was a readily available resource, and as a result barley based spirits (i.e. malt whisky) flourished.

Whisky distilling know-how soon spread to the new world. White settlers in America started to distill whisky using old methods. But the warmer American climate tended to favour other cereals like corn and rye. Naturally, distillers used whatever they could get their hands on, and so Bourbon whiskies (mostly corn based) and rye whiskies (obviously rye based) emerged as distinctive regional styles.

Whisky, meet Australia.

The modern era of Australian whisky began in the 1990’s when Bill Lark (of Lark Distillery in Tasmania) successfully lobbied the government to allow small distilleries to exist in Australia for the first time in more than a hundred years. There were distilleries before this time but most of them, including the infamous Corio Distillery, were in the business of pumping out massive quantities of poor quality product, ultimately tainting the image of Aussie whisky that is only now starting to heal.

The new Australian whisky movement has swung the other way, focussing obsessively on quality, so much so that local whisky is virtually always in high demand and short supply. Many brands, especially those exclusively releasing single cask whiskies, can often be incredibly difficult to find.

But change happens rapidly in a young and exciting industry. An influx of new distilleries being built has resulted in many more casks being squirreled away for ageing. Established distilleries are also moving toward releasing 'house' styles with more supply and at more accessible price points. The likes of Starward's Two-Fold have, for the last several years, laid down a challenge to others. Manly Spirits, Archie Rose and Top Shelf International (NED Whisky) have probably been the most ambitious in meeting this challenge, with the release of core-range whiskies at a similar price point.

What's it taste like?

Australian distillers today have the luxury of using a range of ingredients and casks. Cereals can be imported or harvested locally. Peat, if it's used, is generally from local bogs, but we have heard of imported stock. Casks come in a myriad of sizes and 'flavours', with increasing numbers of Aussie distillers using old casks from the various wine regions around Australia. The point is, there are an unlimited number of permutations that each distiller has at their arsenal. Combined with what seems like a keen interest in exploring new techniques, this all means that there isn't yet a ‘typical Aussie whisky’ taste profile. Once again, this is great news for whisky lovers. The diversity in local whisky is truly exciting right now.

This Advent Calendar.

This advent calendar works like just any other, except that instead of lollies and nativity scenes, this one is chock full of premium Australian whisky. Behind every flap is a 30ml dram of the good stuff. Rip it out of its slot and taste a moment in history. Come back to this page to reveal some interesting facts about the liquid you’re sipping and the distillery that made it.

In this edition, we'll be exploring a total of 25 whiskies from 25 different distilleries.

To optimise the tasting experience, we recommend enjoying these whiskies in a Glencairn or a dedicated whisky glass. If these aren't available, a wine glass also works well. We hope you enjoy the journey as much as we did putting it together!

A note about the notes

Where we have included tasting notes, these have mostly been drawn from the distillers themselves so that you can see what they make of their own creations (and whether you agree!). Some of the notes contain edited snippets written by Luke McCarthy (of Oz Whisky Review) and are reproduced here under license.

Classic Single Malt
Bakery Hill Distillery, VIC

Established over 20 years ago, Founded by David Baker, a former food scientist, Bakery Hill is one of the oldest operating distilleries in Australia. All of Bakery Hill's whiskies are single cask expressions and matured for at least six to eight years. That makes them some of Australia's consistently oldest whiskies. After outgrowing their old location in Bayswater, the team relocated to inner Melbourne with a completely revamped cellar door experience.

Classic Single Malt is the distillery's original core release, made from Australian malted barley that’s been milled and fermented on-site, then aged in ex-Bourbon (Jack Daniels) casks. The whisky is not married with other casks, the distillery preferring to release single casks despite the core nature of this dram, in stark contrast to the latest generation of core range whiskies from other established distilleries where casks are frequently combined to ensure flavour consistency over time.

Muscat Cask
Headlands Distilling, NSW

The first distillery in Wollongong, Headlands Distilling was founded by four mates in 2015. The founders met in school and university, going on to become an investment analyst, an engineer, an R&D research consultant and a postdoctoral research fellow, until they put their heads together and decided to open a distillery instead. From the outset, their goal was to operate a ‘grain to glass’ model where all the ingredients are sourced directly from farmers, then fermented and distilled on-site. Sustainability is also high on the agenda. The distillery is powered using 100% renewable energy and they operate a bottle refill program to cut down on glass waste.

This Muscat Cask single malt is distilled with locally grown malted barley and bottled after ageing for roughly four years. To prepare the oak casks for maturation, the team fills them with 15 year old Seppeltsfield Rare Muscat, letting the sweet fortified wine penetrate the wood staves for a while to ensure the cask takes on enough flavour to release it into the new make spirit later.

Batch 37 (Dark Ale Malt)
Loch Distillery, VIC

Loch Distillery is situated in a solid red brick building which used to be the former Union Bank built in 1902. As the gateway to the lush green Wilson’s Promontory, they're in a prime location for visitors if you're ever passing through. Co-founder Craig honed his craft with Bill Lark of Lark Distillery in Tasmania before setting up here in 2014. They’ve created what appears to be a world first - three different single malts from three different ales, all made on the same premises. They sell the ales too.

Batch 37 is one of Loch Distillery's more recent single cask whisky releases. It's made from their dark ale malt, distilled in their copper pot still sourced from Portugal, then aged in an ex-Oloroso Sherry cask.

Signature Series 1
Adams Distillery, TAS

When Adam Saunders, a builder who helped construct Boags Brewery, met Adam Pinkard, a paramedic with a dream to make whisky, the vision for Adams Distillery was set. The path to opening certainly wasn’t smooth sailing though. Construction at their first proposed site was halted by council just as the foundations were laid. Appeals failed, dreams were shattered but the guys held on and pushed ahead with an ambitious new build at a different site. A couple of years later, once they'd impressed the industry with the quality of their new-make spirit, they pushed the button on a multi-million dollar expansion featuring a 5,500L spirit still, a 12,500L wash still, grain silos, a grist mill, a new mash tun and new 8,500L fermenters.

Then, in 2021, the unthinkable happened. While an employee was preparing a distillation, the ethanol caught fire and the ensuing blaze razed the distillery to the ground. The employee sustained major burns but thankfully survived after several skin grafts and an extended stay in hospital. The Adams were battered, emotionally and physically, but eventually decided to rebuild.

Signature Series 1 is Adams Distillery's original foray into creating a premium house style with continuous, consistent supply drawn from their impressive growing 'library' of casks. While their previous releases have been single cask styles, this one is made from a vatting of whisky aged in ex-bourbon, ex-port and ex-pinot noir casks.

Raven
Dobson's Distillery, NSW

Distiller and founder Stephen Dobson is known in the industry as ‘The Doc’. We’re not sure if his whiskies should be used as medicines though. Akin to an eccentric alchemist, Stephen says it is the birch in the canoe which transports his spirits down the Kentucky River for bottling that sets them apart. Together with his wife Lyn, they packed up their city life for a tree change and set up Dobson’s Distillery in the New England region of NSW. They’ve never looked back. The distillery now operates three stills from 100L to 500L in capacity.

Raven Whisky is an Irish-style triple distilled dram made from two sources of barley - one that's grown locally in Moree and a peated harvest from England. After distillation in the distillery's 500L pot still, the whisky is aged in ex-French Oak casks. Dobson's Distillery employs a variety of micro-oxygenation techniques to encourage the spirit to interact more with the cask wood over time.

Muscat Finish Whisky
78 Degrees Distillery, SA

78 Degrees Distillery, previously known as Adelaide Hills Distillery, was founded in 2014 by winemaker Sacha La Forgia, who worked in wineries around the world before a stint at a grappa distillery in Italy where he was inspired to start his own distillery. Upon returning home, he made his own copper still and launched 78 Degrees Distillery in the Adelaide Hills. The distillery has since changed hands a couple of times, during which it bore the brunt of being in a wider corporate drinks portfolio, which has caused it to lose a little shine in the eyes of bartenders.

The Muscat casks that this single malt whisky is aged in come from a range of South Australian wineries. Muscat, which is fermented then fortified with grape spirit, tends to be very sweet and takes on dark fruity notes as it ages in oak casks. Once these casks are decanted, the empty casks that are still dripping in Muscat are then filled with 78 Degrees whisky for finishing, imparting rich fortified wine notes into the dram.

Entropy Single Malt
Callington Mill Distillery, TAS

Built at a cost of $14 million, Callington Mill Distillery is built on the site of an old mill, roughly halfway between Hobart and Launceston. The man behind it is John Ibrahim, a Sydney-based investor who owned multiple Caltex service stations throughout NSW. Construction constructed at the site in 2020, although behind the scenes work on the distillery had already begun in the form of a prototype distillery at a site in Hobart. The team started filling casks using malt spirit from the prototype stills in early 2019. The Hobart site continues to distil and fill casks with spirit today. The main site was completed in 2021, and a whopping eight core range bottlings were released on the first day – six using spirit sourced from Old Kempton Distillery, the other two starting with triple distilled spirit sourced from Shene Distillery.

Entropy Single Malt is a sold out release that was initially aged in small Tawny & Apera casks, then finished in a combination of Tokay, Muscat and Muscadelle Casks from the Rutherglen region in Victoria. As you'd expect, this dram embodies its ex-fortified past, with rich and sweet notes of rhubarb crumble, marmalade and maple syrup.

Tasman Whisky Sherry Cask
Ironhouse Distillery, TAS

Ironhouse Distillery is an add-on project to Ironhouse Brewery which was founded in 2007 in northeastern Tasmania. Named after an old droving hut named 'Iron House' which stood on the distillery's current grounds, Ironhouse Distillery is where head distiller Michael crafts some of the newest Tasmanian whiskies on the market, sold under the 'Tasman' brand. Utilising a hybrid still, the first Tasman whiskies were laid down in 2015.

Tasman Whisky Sherry Cask is a single malt whisky aged for at least five years in a variety of ex-Sherry casks. Some of these casks come from Australian wineries, while some others have made their way over from France. The result is a nose of nectar and dried fruit followed by raisins, citrus and oak on the palate.

A note on ageing. You'll notice that many Tasmanian whiskies have been aged longer than their mainland counterparts. This is predominantly due to the colder and less variable air temperatures resulting in less spirit movement in and out of the wood over time. In many ways, Tasmanian conditions are closer to that of those in Scotland.

Rye Whisky
Belgrove Distillery, TAS

Belgrove Distillery is perhaps one of the most unique distilleries in the Australian craft distilling scene. Owner and distiller Peter Bignell is a sixth generation Tasmanian farmer who sports a healthy obsession for sustainability. He grows and harvests his own rye, handmade his own copper pot still, makes his own biodiesel to fire the still, chars his own barrels and collects all the water from the roof of his sheds. Virtually the only thing to enter the distillery is waste cooking oil from the local fish and chip shop, for making the biodiesel, and the only thing to leave is whisky.

This 100% rye whisky is one of Australia’s most identifiable and unique drams. To make it, rye is harvested, milled and fermented before being distilled into new-make spirit. It then spends its years ageing in old casks ranging from 50L to 200L previously used by other Tasmanian distilleries. Generally rye whiskies are difficult to make as the yields are quite low. On the plus-side, they pick up flavour quite quickly relative to malt whiskies so ageing them for shorter periods yields excellent results.

Hills Cask
5Nines Distillery, SA

Founded in 2016 by two guys who got tired of corporate life, 5Nines Distilling started in a humble suburban garage. Retrofitted with 3 phase power and plenty of barrel racks, the pair then decided to build a copper still themselves rather than buying one in order to get the right configuration for a light, mellow spirit. Not that they knew how to weld though... that was learnt on the job! They also have their own grist mill - not too many small craft distilleries have one - which ensures the barley is ground to the right size before being fermented.

The Hills Cask is 5Nines' contribution to the growing range of consistent core single malt whisky expressions. It's one of several vatted releases, each of which are a marriage of complementary casks handpicked to create a smooth and well rounded whisky. Hills Cask draws from ex-Bourbon, ex-Apera and ex-Altar Wine casks, each filled with spirit made from malted barley grown in SA.

Green Sash Reserve
NED Whisky, VIC

The NED Whisky story starts with Drew Fairchild, a former CFO for Cleanaway and Shell, and the founder of Top Shelf International, the now ASX-listed company responsible for the brand, which at the time of writing was voluntarily suspended from trading due to a funding crunch. So it's big business with big visions.

NED Whisky's drams are made using local corn, wheat and barley in the Bourbon style in the pursuit of creating a distinctly Australian grain whisky. Green Sash Reserve is a beefed up version of the original NED Whisky, comprising some of the more premium aged casks and bottled at a higher ABV. The result is a flavourful dance of caramel, vanilla and dark chocolate with a long finish of sweet oak and orange.

Symphony No. 1
Lark Distillery, TAS

The first licensed distillery in Tasmania for 150 years, Lark Distillery and its founder Bill Lark can rightly be credited with sowing the seed for the rise of craft distilling in Australia. At the time, Bill noticed that Tasmania shared many of the ideal climatic whisky-making conditions as Scotland. Lobbying his local MP to lift a ban on the registration of small distilleries enabled Lark to get off the ground and make history. Lark Distillery now runs a 1800 litre copper pot still and a 500 litre spirit still.

Symphony No. 1 is a marriage of malt whiskies from Lark Distilling Co.'s broad inventory, including ex-Bourbon casks from the late Nant Distillery after its spectacular collapse, ex-Apera casks from Overeem Distillery and ex-Tawny casks from Lark's original distillery in Cambridge, TAS. On the palate, it's fleshy and malty, lengthening into kiwi fruits and mango. Creamy and surprisingly textural.

Straight Rye
Gospel Distillers, VIC

Inspired by the style of music that shares its name, The Gospel was founded with the vision of producing American whiskey with a unique Australian twist. To date, it's Australia’s only dedicated rye whiskey distillery. Rye is well known for being fiendishly difficult to ferment and distil economically as the yields are typically very low, so hats off to these guys for making it their everything.

This whiskey is made using 100% Australian grown unmalted rye from a single farm in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia. Specifically chosen for its harsh climate, the rye from this area is small and dense, renowned for its distinct spicy flavour. The rye is fermented then double distilled in the distillery's copper pot still.

The new-make spirit is aged in virgin American Oak casks ('virgin' meaning these are brand new casks that have never been used to age other liquids before) which are sourced from a cooperage in Kentucky, US. This is in keeping with the strict regulations imposed upon bourbon producers in the US. Make what you will of the timber waste this generates, but whisky distilleries around the world have embraced the massive numbers of emptied bourbon casks and used them to age their own whiskies. One man's waste is another man's treasure in the whisky industry. The casks themselves are heavily toasted with a specific level of char before being filled with new-make spirit. Each cask then left to mature for at least two years prior to bottling.

Mac. Liqueur Cask
Cape Byron Distillery, NSW

Cape Byron Distillery was founded by Eddie Brook and former master distiller of Bruichladdich Distillery, Jim McEwan. The distillery resides on the Brook family’s very own 96 acre macadamia farm and native rainforest, which they’ve helped regenerate over many decades of careful conservation work. Lovers of premium breakfast cereal will be familiar with the Brookfarm brand, which Eddie's family has owned and operated for the last 30+ years.

As a result of the Brook family's conservation work, Cape Byron Distillery has remarkable access to a whole host of native plants which have taken up residence in this re-wilded land. These include the Davidson's Plum, riberries, native ginger and aniseed myrtle.

For the last 3+ years, the distillery has been distilling and ageing single malt whisky. Stone & Wood Brewery, just down the road in Byron Bay, is responsible for fermenting malted barley with spring water into a wash, which is then delivered to the distillery. The wash is twice distilled in a 2000 litre copper pot still before being pumped into casks that the distillery previously used to age their macadamia liqueur (also known as Mac.).

Coastal Stone Nor'Easter
Manly Spirits, NSW

Based in Sydney’s Northern Beaches and inspired by the coastal influence of their surroundings, Manly Spirits Co was founded in 2017 and has since grown to become a well recognised brand throughout Australia. In keeping with the laid back Manly vibe, it’s also the only distillery we know of that runs yoga classes next to all the shiny distillery gear. Manly Spirits also started exporting recently and you can find their wares in some of the best bottle shops in the UK. To keep up with demand, the distillery runs four copper pot stills in various sizes ranging from 50L for experimental runs to 600L for gin and vodka and 1500L for whisky.

Making single malt whisky was always one of the primary goals for Manly Spirits. Coastal Stone Nor'Easter is one of Manly Spirits' core whisky releases intended to be a consistently available sipping whisky. It's aged in both Australian ex-wine casks from the Barossa Valley and classic American/French oak barrels. These casks, of different sizes, wood types and maturity, are frequently married together in a large vat by the distillery's expert blender to achieve a consistent result.

Talamara
Tin Shed Distilling, SA

Tin Shed Distilling is one of those places where every step of the whisky making process is hands on and hard work - milling malt, stirring mash, moving barrels, tasting casks, filling bottles, applying labels and packing into shipping cartons. Hardly any of their process is mechanised and that’s exactly the way they like it. A new 2200L copper pot still and their older 600L still perform most of the magic here, but it hasn’t always been plain sailing. Tin Shed was initially founded as a side hustle between three mates and was known as Southern Coast Distilling at the time. Their products were delicious and well received, but sadly the partnership fell apart years later. Tin Shed is the reincarnation of that operation with two of the original founders on-board.

Named after the small peat bog that the distillery sources their peat from, Talamara is a single malt whisky aged for at least four years in ex-Shiraz casks then finished in a mix of ex-Port and ex-Sherry casks. Most of the casks used are made with American Oak. The spirit itself is very lightly peated and exhibits a sweet finish.

Double Wood
Kinglake Distillery, VIC

Kinglake Distillery was built in 2018 by local resident Chantal, an ex-professional mountain biker with a science degree, and her husband Sam. From the outset, they decided their whisky needed to smell and taste local with influence from their bush surroundings. That's why they employ an open-fermentation process where the vats are left uncovered to allow naturally occurring yeasts to settle in and make themselves at home. A 2500 litre copper pot still is the workhorse that does the rest of the magic.

From the outset, Kinglake Distillery made it their mission to become the experts at making whisky aged in ex-Bourbon casks, in contrast to most Australian whiskies that are aged in ex-fortified wine casks. However, the team also experimented with some ex-fortified wine casks to great success. Double Wood consists of three ex-Tawny casks filled in 2018 married with the first of their larger format ex-Bourbon barrels. This blending accentuates the signature toffee, vanilla and caramel notes found in Kinglake's core ex-Bourbon releases.

Solera Muscat Cask Finish
Spring Bay Distillery, TAS

Established in 2015, Spring Bay Distillery is the realisation of a dream for owners Cam and Suzy Brett. By the time they received their manufacturer’s licence in 2015 Spring Bay was only the 12th licensed distillery in Tasmania. Located 500 metres from the sea, Spring Bay Distillery has a unique terroir claim to its spirits. Most afternoons, sea mist drifts up the valley and falls on the roof of the distillery, later collected when the rain falls. This sea salt imparts a unique profile to the water which is both soft and sweet, and it's this water that's used to cut back all their spirits to bottling strength.

Solera Muscat Cask Finish is a Spring Bay's core release, a single malt whisky aged in both American and French oak casks in a solera system. The youngest casks are placed at the top of the solera, with gravity helping to slowly filter the aging whisky through several 500 litre puncheons before ultimately finishing in two ex-Muscat casks for finishing.

The result is an approachable single malt with vanilla, dark chocolate and spice notes with an overlay of Muscat sweetness.

Good(e) Whisk(e)y
Archie Rose Distilling, NSW

For most people who have followed the Australian spirits scene, Archie Rose is a household name. Founded in 2013, this 'no expenses spared' distillery has been pumping out award winning drops ever since. Combined with marketing finesse, their success has seen Archie Rose products stocked in virtually every decent bar in Australia.

It took many years before Archie Rose finally released its first whisky. There had been teasers - their six malt new-make spirit, for example - but in the first few years they became known for being a gin brand. That's now changing rapidly. After releasing a series of limited edition single malts, weird and wacky experiments (a couple of which we'll sample shortly), they also recently released 'Double Malt' whisky, a dram made on a larger scale at a very accessible price point.

This curiously named whisky actually came about as an accident. One of the distillers, Mr Goode, mistakingly combined some single malt and rye malt whisky, creating a hybrid dram that was never designed to be. The master distiller decided it was a very good whisky that offered expressive oak from the rye alongside the charismatic flavours of roasted malts. It was finished by adding a few more barrels of single malt and rye malt to the blend, then bottled.

Waubs Original
Waubs Harbour Distillery, TAS

Waubs Harbour Distillery is located right on the water’s edge in Bicheno on Tasmania’s stunning east coast. It was founded in 2018 by Tim Polmear, his wife Bec and Tim’s brother Rob, who was previously head of production at Lark Distillery and head distiller at Overeem Distillery. Their intent was to create one of Australia’s most distinctively ‘maritime’ single malts, and the site, once an old oyster hatchery, was chosen specifically to achieve this goal.

Their first single malts, including the Waubs Original, were released in 2023 and they’re an interesting representation of the Bicheno location but also of Rob Polmear’s distilling background. There’s the Overeem finesse, tidiness and richness of flavour, but you also feel the nutty, toasty, biscuity notes present in Lark whiskies here as well.

Waubs Original is made from a mash of Tasmanian pale malt barley and aged predominately in ex-Bourbon casks with a smaller percentage of Australian ex-Tawny casks married into the batch.

Smoky Wedding Peated
Furneaux Distillery, TAS

Located in the Bass Straitoff the coast of Tasmania, Flinders Island is the largest of the Furneaux Group of islands and now adds whisky distilling to its list of charms. Damien Newton-Brown is the man responsible for bringing whisky to the island. Having spent a number of childhood holidays on the island, he remembered that Flinders has a number of marshes and bogs, and as a big Laphroaig fan, he dreamed up the idea of creating a heavily peated malt whisky on the island.

Furneaux Distillery officially opened in 2019. Spirit was initially acquired from Launceston Distillery and a couple of years later the first peated Furneaux single malt whiskies wholly distilled on Flinders Island were released.

Smoky Wedding is made using a marriage of two types of peat - local coastal peat from Tasmanian native vegetation and classic Scottish sphagnum moss peat. The malted barley is peated in-house then distilled, with the distillers taking a much later 'cut' than usual, meaning that more of the heavier phenols come through into the distillate. The new-make is then aged in small 50L casks for just over three years.

Upshot
Whipper Snapper Distillery, WA

Whipper Snapper Distillery is a tribute to two WWII veterans who flew fighter jets and drank whisky. Their love of the spirit evolved into one of the veterans running a backyard moonshine distilling operation in Perth. Eventually the recipes and distilling knowledge were handed down to Al and Jimmy, the masterminds behind the distillery as it is today. They're right behind supporting local, with all of the ingredients used to make their products hailing from Western Australia.

This Bourbon-inspired whisky is made in the traditional way using a totally Western Australian grown mash bill of 80% corn, 10% wheat and 10% malted barley. Every process from mashing and fermenting to distilling is done in-house under the watchful eye of Copper the distillery dog. The spirit that drips out of their custom-built copper continuous still is then matured for at least two years in charred, American white oak barrels. A very amenable everyday whisky that also works wonders in cocktails such as the Manhattan.

Limeburners American Oak
Great Southern Distilling, WA

Close to 20 years ago, founder Cameron Syme set up a small distilling operation in Albany. This was a time before whisky was really back ‘in’ and certainly before Aussie whiskies became well regarded. Armed with a background in law and accounting, Cameron was well equipped for the commercial side of the business... he just had to learn how to make whisky! Attracted to Albany’s pristine location and access to quality local barley, he boldly set out to try and make the world’s best whisky and incidentally, some of WA’s first single malt. Great Southern Distilling has since become a major player in the Aussie market, with its signature Limeburners whiskies taking out a number of high profile awards.

This Limeburners staple starts off as barley grown in WA which is fermented for up to a week, distilled twice in copper stills ranging from 1000L to 1800L in size, then matured in 200 litre ex-Bourbon American Oak casks. Finally, the whisky is cut with water pumped from local underground limestone aquifers.

Triple Barrel Whisky
Tattarang Springs Distillery, WA

Tattarang Springs Distilling is a small batch distillery led by a distiller, chef, and horticulturalist, situated on 120 acres at the southern tip of the Darling Ranges. They have several dams filled all year round by underground springs which provide the water for not only the distillery itself but also the orchards that grow the botanicals for their gins. All the spirit used in their products is created from scratch using grain that's fermented and distilled in-house.

This limited release single malt whisky is made from barley grown in the WA wheat belt, aged for a minimum of four years in ex-Margaret River French Oak casks, ex-Bourbon American Oak casks before being finished in a ex-Russian Imperial Stout cask. The whisky is cut with water sourced from natural springs on their property. The unique combination of casks culminates in a smooth, buttery pallet of toffee, oak, vanilla and a hint of dried fig with lingering earthy notes of molasses and milk coffee.

Double Cask
Hellyers Road Distillery, TAS

Merry Christmas! So far you've made it through 24 days of a flavour rollercoaster.

Hellyers Road is one of Australia’s largest whisky distilleries. Located in Burnie, in Tasmania’s stunning north western tip, the distillery was founded in 1999 by Betta Milk, a Tasmanian milk co-operative that saw an opportunity to expand after the Australian dairy industry was deregulated.

The company’s experience producing dairy products influenced their approach to making whisky, and the distillery has taken a different path to the smaller Tassie distillers. Greater volumes of spirit was the goal, and as a result, their whisky is now available in over 20 countries. The stills at Hellyers Road Distillery are absolutely enormous, even by Scottish standards. The wash still comes in at 60,000 litres and the spirit still 20,000 litres (most Australian stills are between 500–1800 litres). Hellyers’ distillation regime is incredibly slow as a result. The middle-cut or ‘heart’ is collected over 24 hours – about five to six times longer than most.

Double Cask is one of Hellyers' revamped core range drams. Aged in 200L American Oak ex-Bourbon casks for a minimum of five years, the whisky is then finished in ex-Pinot Noir French Oak barriques. This secondary maturation adds beautiful red berry notes and a unique Tasmanian influence to this small batch single malt.