Sullivans Cove Double Cask Single Malt Whisky

Sullivans Cove Double Cask Single Malt Whisky

Situated along the banks of the River Derwent on the island of Tasmania, Sullivans Cove was the site of one of Britain's first penal colonies in Australia. In 1804, at the order of the Governor King of the British settlement of New South Wales, Lt. John Bowen transported some of the most heinous British criminals to Sullivans Cove, which eventually developed into the city of Hobart. Hobart was the perfect penal colony the area's dense forests required a huge labor force in order to establish a settlement, and its isolation and inaccessibility ensured there was no escape. Today, the island of Tasmania remains of one the most isolated and natural places on earth approximately 37% of the island is protected as natural reserves. Sullivans Cove Single Malt Tasmanian Whisky is made from barley grown exclusively on the island of Tasmania. "The island's deep red basalt soil, pure water and mild temperatures result in a barley that is perfect for distillation," says Patrick Maguire, the distillery's founder and master distiller (his ancestors were convicts that were imprisoned on the island). In addition, the island has one of the oldest and strictest quarantine programs in the world, ensuring that the barley remains untainted. Once the barley has been harvested, it is malted at the Cascade Brewery by Roger Ibbott, who has over four decades of experience malting barley. The malted barley is then mashed and fermented at Sullivans Cove Distillery using a unique strain of yeast developed specifically for the production of Sullivans Cove Whisky. Then, the wash is twice-distilled through a handmade copper-pot still. "The real trick is to cut the run short, so that only the sweetest, best flavors and purest alcohol from the heart of the run is captured", says Macguire. "It's not the most sensible approach by an accountant's standards, but then it's a good thing that we are not accountants!" Following distillation, Sullivan's Cove Double Cask Single Malt Whisky is matured in a combination of American oak casks that were previously used to mature Jim Beam (two-thirds) and thirty-year old French oak casks that were previously used to mature port (one-third). After maturing for eleven years in each cask, the whiskies are married together, brought to proof and then bottled. Sullivan's Cove Double Cask Single Malt Whisky has an aroma of soft spices and vanilla, which lead to notes of cloves, rock candy and pear. The well-rounded and smooth finish has a touch of oak and milk chocolate. The whisky earned the Gold Medal at the World Whisky Masters in 2011.