Photo – Natalie Mendham
Sullivans Cove are set to release their oldest single cask whisky to date, a 21 year old American Oak ex-Bourbon cask distilled in 2000, marking the first time a single cask from the distillery has been bottled over 20 years old.
The new whisky, due to be released via Sullivans Cove’s ballot process in late March, follows several 20-plus year old Australian whiskies bottled in recent years from the likes of independent bottler Cadenheads, Cradle Mountain Distillery, Smiths Angaston and Lark (the latter was also distilled at Sullivans Cove).
The new Sullivans 21 year old was on show at a media tasting I recently attended, where a number of folks from the Sullivans Cove team took us through the whisky, including managing director Adam Sable.
For those not aware, Sable and the Melbourne-based family business he heads took ownership of the distillery in 2016, and since taking the reins they’ve guided the brand to even more awards and accolades (awards and Sullivans Cove are like moths to a flame).
But at the tasting, I couldn’t resist probing the team about the enviable but complex position the distillery now finds itself in. Every Sullivans Cove release, which start at $250 for the Double Cask and progress to anywhere between $400 and $750 for the core range and other limited single cask offerings, is met with frenzied demand and interest.
Photo – Natalie Mendham
Despite this, the Sullivans team, working under exceptional head distiller Heather Tillott, have continued to be as patient, methodical and obsessive as ever when selecting only the most optimally matured whiskies from their bond store. Collectors, retailers and auction houses are revelling in this limited program of releases, with certain bottlings doubling and even tripling in value on the secondary market within weeks or months of the whiskies being released.
The previous 21 year old released in 2019 for Sullivans’ 25th anniversary, a vatting of four casks that yielded 502 bottles, now has an asking price close to $6000 with some online retailers (the original RRP was $1800). The upcoming 21 year old will land at a whopping $2250, and with only 209 bottles to be made available, good luck trying to nab one.
I put the new whisky through its paces at the tasting alongside another American Oak single cask, HH0351, which picked up World’s Best Single Cask Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards in 2018 (reviews below). A bottle from that cask was auctioned in 2018 for charity through Christies in London for a miserly £6600 (almost $12,000 AUD), so all in all, a pricey duo.
To be frank, I’m not all that interested in the secondary prices and the obsessiveness with which Sullivans Cove is collected. I’ve been lucky to taste hundreds of Sullivans Cove whiskies over the years, but only thanks to the gig I have, and I’m acutely aware that today these whiskies are well beyond the reach of a lot of people who’d like to give them a try.
That’s the tricky bit for the distillery team: how do you make Sullivans Cove more available to more people in an equitable way with limited mature stock to play with? Will there ever be a more widely available and affordable Sullivans Cove whisky to introduce the average punter to? And when will overseas enthusiasts get a chance to try the elusive Tasmanian tiger of the whisky world?
It’s going to be fascinating to see how the brand evolves over the next few years, especially with the eventual move to a schmick new distillery location in central Hobart. Soon, even more people will be keen for a taste of Australia’s most iconic whisky brand, a good problem to have.
