Whisky #123 – Sullivans Cove Single Cask French Oak Single Malt, Barrel HH0533

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Sullivans Cove Single Cask French Oak Single Malt, Barrel HH0533. Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 47.50%. Tasted at The Grosvenor, $24.

Colour: Golden copper. Darker than gold, lighter than copper. Does that make it brassy? Who really cares, let’s taste it.

Nose: Not an overly strong nose, but some mixed spices. Possibly even a hint of rye, which is surprising as it’s obviously not a rye whiskey.

Palate: Lots of flavour, spice & warmth when you take a sip. Cloves & cinnamon are the main spices I get, but also maybe a touch of fennel – maybe it’s the very subtle aniseed-like flavours there that gave the rye scents.

Finish: Feels like a smooth oily entry, but then a dry finish. Flavours linger long, but not as long as the warmth, particularly on the front half of the mouth and a what feels like a small strip lengthways down the centre of the tongue. Lips tingle for a while afterwards.

Comments: I was very keen to try the Sullivan’s Cove French Oak single cask, particularly after it recently won best single malt in the world at the prestigious World Whisky Awards in London, albeit from a different barrel to this release (the winning barrel was HH0525). Definitely surprised to see such a hard to find whisky behind the bar of a regular pub in the middle of the city, The Grosvenor is not exactly known as a whisky bar!

Having walked through the cold & rain to get here, it’s certainly a welcome feeling to be drinking a warming dram like this one. The warmth really radiates through your chest as the whisky goes down, but certainly not in a fiery way. Very pleased to have tried it, I’m not sure I would rate it amongst the top echelon of the world’s whiskies but definitely one I’d like to have in the collection at home for those cold winter nights and also the fact it is quite a unique offering. It’s almost a little bourbon-like, but much smoother and tastier than any bourbon I’ve had before. I would be very keen to compare it to other barrels of the French Oak expression, though after winning the world whisky of the year that particular barrel is extremely hard (and costly) to come by.

Overall, recommended highly. Support your Aussie whisky producers!