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.
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.
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)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
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)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colour: Dark Orange-gold
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
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.
Cheers,
Martin.
