The Guide to the Whiskies of Tasmania July 2015 | Page 13

MONA Brewing
Whilst Tasmania Distillery relies on the same barley

Tasmania Distillery, Cambridge

and water supply as Lark Distillery, the similarities end
there. The first point of differentiation is that the
Sullivans Cove wash is brewed at Cascade Brewery and,
reflecting a recent agreement, at the Moo Brew Brewery
located at the now world-famous art museum of MONA.
Another neat example of distillery/tourism synergies.

Better known by its brand name, Sullivans Cove,
Tasmania Distillery can claim to be the second oldest
distillery of the current generation after Lark.
It was established in 1994 by Robert Hoskins and
produced very poor quality spirit between 1996 and
1998. After its somewhat mixed beginnings it eventually
re-emerged under the ownership of Patrick Maguire as a
producer of high-quality spirit which has led to Sullivans
Cove winning numerous awards and achieving admirably
high ratings in the Whisky Bible for some of the whiskies
produced between November 1999 and July, 2001.

A further distinction
is that Tasmania
Distillery uses 200 and
300 L casks for
maturation whereas
its competitors tend to
rely on smaller barrels,
usually of 100 L, hence
the quicker maturation.
In this respect, the
Distilling the Wash
Sullivans Cove product
is more akin to a Scottish malt whisky which, these days,
is unlikely to be found at much under 10 years old.

The Patience of Aficionados

Followers await with baited breath the appearance of
subsequent distillations which are yet to be bottled. New
premises, soon to be joined by a second still to act as the
wash still, are evidence of the brand's success. Unlike
most Tasmanian whiskies, Sullivans Cove goes for longer
periods of maturation of between 10 and 13 years which,
inevitably, leads to “dry”
spells when there is no
whisky of sufficient
maturity for bottling,
much to the frustration
of Sullivans Cove fans.
The current site is the
distillery’s fourth location
in its 20+ years of
existence. However, this
last move simply involved
going a few metres from
one part of the Cambridge
light industrial estate in
which it is located to
another, larger building.
This new site has a
visitors’ centre in keeping
with the industry’s alliance
with Tasmanian tourism.

Still Never Stops

Tasmania Distillery attaches great importance to its
policy of controlling barrel production and uses a mix of
French and American Oak casks. This they believe
provides the sort of consistency
which has contributed
to the Sullivans Cove
reputation. This may
be further enhanced
by the recently
introduced practice
of running the still for
seven days a week
back to back in the
Inside Sullivans Cove
cooler months instead
of previously whereby there was a week’s gap between
each run.
Sadly, the success of Sullivans Cov