by 
Sullivans Cove Single Cask French Oak Single Malt, Barrel HH0401. Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. ABV: 47.50%. Tasted at Helvetica, $26.
I wouldn’t normally review two separate barrels from the same whisky, but as the Sullivans Cove Single Cask French Oak 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). I thought it might be interesting to compare the two.
Colour: Light copper.
Nose: Like walking into an old spice shop. Not a shop that sells Old Spice, but an old shop with loads of dried spices for sale. Cardamom, cloves, maybe even some dried garlic. A rich and complex nose. I’m not getting the rye scents that I got from the other Sullivans Cove French Oak Single Malt I tried, which was from barrel HH0533.
Palate: Definitely a very similar palate to the other French Oak barrel HH0533. No fennel this time, but some oaky vanilla, pepper and mixed spices abound.
Finish: The rich, long finish of chewy dried fruit has the good grace to hang around for a while so you can really savour the flavour. Gentle warmth tingles the front half of the palate as with the HH0533.
Comments: Hard to directly compare the two barrels having tasted them quite a few weeks apart.
This one is certainly a fantastic drop, but I’d still stand by my last assessment that while it is a great whisky, I’m not sure I’d rate it as the world’s best. In saying that, I’d like to have a couple of bottles in my collection – one to enjoy and one as an investment.