Our favourite bottle: Sullivan’s Cove French Oak, 25th Anniversary Special Edition 21-year-old.īuy it here (Sullivans Cove) Buy it here (Dan Murphy’s) Buy it here (Whisky Exchange) Stay up to date with all our Sullivans Cove news, reviews, and more right here. It certainly commands a price worthy of its status – Buy it here ($6000 AUD). Not only could this be the most highly regarded Australian whiskey on this list, but it might be the oldest official distillery release of Australian single malt whisky in modern history.
This whisky was distilled in the very early days of Sullivans Cove (in the late 90s) and is a marriage of four x 200L (ex-bourbon casks) of only 162 casks ever produced in that era, most of which were bottled and sold years ago. When a world champion brand releases its oldest whiskey to date, it commands a LOT of attention. Sullivans Cove 25th Anniversary Special Edition 21yo
Long road distillers full#
While the label bears no age statement, the liquid inside is 12 to 14 years old and boats a big, fat, chewy single malt full of rich toffee and molasses, not dissimilar to a Demerara rum – Buy it here ($450 AUD). While bottles from the original winning cask dissappeared by the time the award was bestowed to the distillery (though a few are probably still floating out there, valued in the thousands), you can get a single bottle of the current release for around $600 AUD, if you’re lucky. Today, they produce some of the most sought-after and best whisky in the world and we’ve outlined two of our favourite bottles below.Īrguably the drop that triggered the recent influx of international interest in Australian whisky, this beautiful single malt was named the best in the world in 2020 and has been almost impossible to get a hold of ever since. Originally founded in Sullivan’s Cove, the distillery moved to Cambridge in 2004 where its fortunes changed, and by 2007 the brand started to gain international recognition that included ‘Liquid Gold’ status (95/100 points) in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible. Our favourite bottles: Lark Rare Cask PARA100, Lark 9yo Bourbon Cask Whisky.īuy it here (Lark) Buy it here (Dan Murphy’s)Īll the greats start from humble beginnings, but for Australian whiskey brand Sullivan’s Cove, it was a change in ownership that saw its popularity change in the early 2000s. Stay up to date with all our Lark news, reviews, and more right here. Whiskey in Australia doesn’t get much better. A little richer than their other Australian whiskies, it’s a very complex liquid, layered with many different, almost conflicting flavours on the palate, which are all tied together with a subtle sweetness and a beautiful mouthfeel. One of our favourites is their highly sought-after 9yo Bourbon Cask release. Married together to produce a rich single malt with some sweetness and depths, Lark Para100 soaks up every bit of complexity stored in the Para Vintage Tawny casks’ oak.
Lark’s Rare Cask PARA100 is one believed to be the world’s only unbroken lineages of single vintage wines dating back to 1878, the Seppeltsfield’s Para Vintage Tawny is the only Australian wine ever scored 100/100 by the renowned critic James Halliday. We then collate the information together and measure the whisky via overall flavour profile, reader ratings and commercial availability. In addition to our own opinions, we take into account reviews via alcohol forum The Whisky List and the Australian drinks retailer Dan Murphy’s. Our list takes into account three major perspectives to determine the overall rating. While we’ve tasted every whiskey on this list (often thanks to our friends in the industry), we’ve also turned to the wider public for their overall ratings. When it comes to our list of the best Australian whiskey money can buy, it goes without saying, that expertise is key. Examples from most Australian states are all found in our list below, alongside a quick history lesson from the experts on what makes Australian Whisky great.īest Whisky Subscription Services in Australia How We Chose this List of Australian Whiskey Names such as Lark, Bakery Hill, and Sullivans Cove have become household brands over the years, but there are a number of other distilleries popping up all over the country. And while the experts we interviewed below found it hard to pinpoint an exact moment our best drams hit the mainstream, it’s clear Tasmanian producers have put the country on the map with some of the best whiskey in the world.
The world is going crazy for the best Australian whiskey brands.