Cask & maturation

A bourbon cask, as is common in Scotland? On Tasmania, that's more the exception than the rule. Many distilleries instead turn to casks that previously held wine, a legacy of the island's strong wine industry.

Sullivans Cove, based in Cambridge near Hobart, fills its whisky into both American oak that previously held bourbon and French oak that previously matured Tasmanian wine. The French Oak cask HH0525 was named the world's best single malt in 2014, and the distillery went on to win World's Best Single Cask Single Malt in 2018 with an American oak cask and again in 2019 with a French oak cask, the only distillery ever to do so twice.

Overeem, originally founded as Old Hobart Distillery, relies mainly on port and sherry casks, alongside bourbon for its standard range. Limited releases also see red wine, muscat, stout and tokay casks, all in large-format French or American oak. Every whisky matures for at least five years and is bottled as a single cask with its own number.

Hellyers Road in the northwest takes its own path, finishing its whisky in casks that previously held Pinot Noir. This release was named the best "New World Whisky" at Whisky Live Paris in 2013.

The island's cool, damp climate matures whisky more slowly than in warmer regions. The warehouses themselves tend to be simple, often standing right next to the distillery, without the vast rackhouses familiar from Kentucky.