Hi Folks,
The next TWAS night is almost here!

Theme: “Tasmanian Whisky - the state of play”
When: Monday 8th November
Time: 6.30 for 7pm
Where: Lark Distillery
Cost: $75 on the night

A chance to catch up on Tasmanian whisky!  See what is being offered!
Please let me know if you can make it and how many guest you’ll be bringing.
Please book in early as seats are limited.

RSVP to: richard@twas.com.au

Regards,
Richard

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Gatherings, Australian Whisky | Comments Off

Tasmania is fast gathering a reputation as a producer of premium single malt whiskies. There are six distilleries and a seventh isn’t far away.

There are about two dozen distilleries across the country, but with a quarter of them based in Tasmania, already some connoisseurs are labelling what used to be called the apple isle - the whisky island.

• Video: Tasmania’s maturing whisky trade (7.30 Report)
  

Tim Duckett is a member of the Tasmanian Whisky Appreciation Society, a group that samples and analyses both local and international drinks.

Mr Duckett firmly believes the state’s climatic conditions, barley and clean water make the colonial product comparable to whiskies from more traditional territory.

“They seem to produce a depth of character that I believe makes us comparable, or I’m going to go out on a limb here and say superior to some of the whiskies that are produced in Scotland,” he said.

“Our industry is only 16 years of age - theirs is 400 and we’re catching up very, very rapidly with the qualities of the whisky that we produce.”

In the central highlands is one of the industry’s newest players, Nant Distillery, based on the old Nant Estate, near Bothwell.

It was set up by Queensland property developer Keith Batt who intends to move down when things warm up later this year.

The distillery bottled its first release in early July, and it’s receiving rave reviews.

One thing that sets this producer apart is the colonial methods still used in the (more…)

Announcements, Australian Whisky, Spotlight | Comments Off

The last few years have seen a meteoric increase in both the popularity and quality of Australian whisky, yet by world standards, the industry is young.

Ryan Marshman from Nicks.com.au has written an well researched guide to Australian Whisky - from it’s history right through to current distilleries.
Ryan has done an amazing job, and you will find a wealth of information in his article.

Head on over and check out the article at www.nicks.com.au.

Article Link - http://www.nicks.com.au/Index.aspx?link_id=76.1610

Announcements, Australian Whisky, Spotlight | Comments Off

The Great Southern Distilling Company has made history with the release of Western Australia’s first official Single Malt Whisky.

Hand-distilled and aged for over two years in American Oak barrels, our Single Malt Whisky has now been packaged under the commemorative Limeburners - First Release  label and is available for purchase in a limited release of 330 individually numbered bottles.

The Limeburners First Release is non-chill filtered and has a sweet malt flavour displaying a subtle bouquet of vanilla, cinnamon, candied orange peel, mocha and butterscotch.

This unique achievement required vision, passion and plenty of hard work from Great Southern Distilling Company founding director Cameron Syme and the rest of the distillery team.  Cameron’s research into producing a fine Single Malt Whisky began 16 years ago and culminated in the recent establishment of a distillery, contemporary cafe and cellar door facility on the shore of Albany’s Princess Royal Harbour.

Visitors to the distillery at 252 Frenchman Bay Road have the opportunity to learn a little of the history of Whisky distillation from Head Distiller Tony Browne and to see the process in operation before finally sampling and purchasing the finished product.

Announcements, Australian Whisky | Comments Off

Sally Gudgeon raises a glass to an exciting new industry.

AUSTRALIA has a young whisky industry but some of our drops are world class. Jim Murray is the world’s leading authority on whisky. His Whisky Bible 2008 ratings for some Australian whiskies show he considers them among the best in the world. Malt whiskies from Bakery Hill, Lark Distillery and Tasmania Distillery score in the 90s (out of 100). For a modern industry that dates back only to the 1990s, they are spectacular scores, particularly when few of the spirits have reached their 10th birthday.

Whisky production is not new to Australia. Spirits arrived with the First Fleet, and Governor Bligh brought the first stills in the early 1800s. Illicit distilling is still around today.

The Corio Distillery in Geelong, established by the Distillers Company of Edinburgh, operated at a time when there was a worldwide shortage of whisky.

Norm Phillips, who worked there for more than 30 years and was general manager when the distillery closed in 1980, was told the brief from head office was to “make whisky no better than the worst in Scotland”. This edict was followed religiously. In its heyday, a Corio and Coke was one of the cheapest shouts around, a rough, blended whisky not for the discerning palate.

These days the Scots are very supportive of the Australian industry and are willing to share their knowledge; Kristy Lark, of Lark Distillery, received a scholarship to Scotland to learn more about distilling. Australian whiskies haven’t just made a favourable impression - Lark’s method of peating malt (more…)

Australian Whisky, News Items | Comments Off