Tasmanian Whisky Tour
Tasmanian whisky
Whisky, that is really good whisky, is something I’d travel to the ends of the Earth for. That long smack of peat from Scotland’s Islay region or the warm sweet fruity flavours from Japan make travel a pleasurable sensory experience. One of the little-known delights of world whiskey is Australia’s Apple Isle—Tasmania, and a trip to Oz is not complete without a quick trip to Tasmania’s Whiskey Trail. The whisky industry in Tasmania, or Tassie to the locals, is relatively young, with the first distillery opening in 1992. Since then Tassie whiskies have garnered a reputation for themselves, capped by the award of the World’s Best Whisky in 2014 to Sullivan’s Cove French Oak Single Malt.
A small hop from the mainland, Hobart is my first destination. Originally settled as a penal colony in the late 1700s, Hobart still retains much of its colonial architecture—glowing honey-coloured sandstone buildings are interspersed with brutalist 1960s edifices that jar the senses. Hidden in a back corner opposite Constitution Dock, in what looks like an old storehouse, contains the Lark Distillery. More a tasting room than a working distillery, nevertheless the old-world charm and atmosphere make for a pleasant place to while away an afternoon tasting the local fare. Lark produces six whiskies and five spirits including gin, rum and a whiskey liqueur.
Lark’s intriguing dessert-style whiskey liqueur, sweeter than a normal whisky with floral hints was a definite ‘keeper’.
As Tassie is a relatively small island it’s very easy to travel around by car in a short time frame. A weekend was all I could enjoy of Tasmania, however in that time it was easy to see three distilleries and a tasting house.
Next stop, an easy hour’s drive north of Hobart, was Nant. Situated just outside of the sleepy village of Bothwell, Nant Distillery is located in an old sandstone flour mill situated on the bank of a small rivulet. with the water wheel still operating. Tours of the distillery are available, as too meals and tastings. The quality of the whisky stepped up a notch at Nant, with varieties of port, sherry, bourbon and Pinot noir barrelled whisky available in two strengths—43% and 63% alcohol. Personally I found the 63% too strong.
My tour guide, Jordan, introduced me to the history of the mill, the distilling process and the maturation of whisky, explaining how the barrels bring colour and flavour to the whiskey. I was amazed to discover how much liquid is lost in the whiskey making process. An initial batch of 1800 litres of water and ‘grist’ results in about 300 litres of final whisky. Not to mention the Angel’s Share, that amount of whisky lost from the barrel during the maturation process through evaporation.
Neighbouring Nant is one of Tasmania’s, and Australia’s, oldest farms, Ratho Farm. Ratho has another unique claim to fame—home of Australia’s oldest golf course. Ratho was founded by Scottish emigrant Alexander Reid, who established a run here in 1822. Bringing his family, worldly goods and a flock of Saxon merino sheep the farm was soon supplying wool to the fledgling colony. Today the original homestead still stands, and local manager Mike (a Queenslander who arrived here whilst travelling around the country and hasn’t left, “the first winter was hard,” he declares) is happy to regale visitors with the full history of the property.
Ratho and its outbuildings have undergone major renovation and can cater for individuals, small groups or large parties. And the renovations have been done with an eye to quality. As I sit around the open fire of the main homestead chatting with other guests it’s easy to imagine bygone days, as the decor of the homestead looks largely original. Old mashies and niblicks sit in the corner, perhaps used by Alexander Reid himself on the Ratho course.
The next morning gray skies, rain and a howling wind welcomed me. Par for the course in this part of Tassie, as winds whip in from the west across the Southern Ocean, rising onto the central highlands. During the last ice age, much of this area was covered by glaciers. Highland tarns, rivulets and streams are home to brown trout and the fly fishing here is first class. Fishing tours can be organised through Ratho if time permits, but I’ve got whiskey on my mind and the next stop is an out-of-way distillery called Belgrove.
Belgrove’s whiskies are known for the unique flavours, and owner Peter Bignell is happy to take you on a tour of his hand-made distillery (by appointment). Peter wears his passion for whisky on his sleeve, “I could talk for hours,” he says. Sadly I didn’t have hours to listen to him, but his knowledge and understanding of the whisky making process was enlightening.
Peter has made all his own distillation equipment, often fashioning equipment from old machinery or cast-offs. An old industrial dryer has been modified for the malting process; a table top meat mincer used to mash the rye grains.
As Peter was showing me through his barrel collection, it became apparent that he will distill anything and everything. As he told me, “I’m only interested in flavour, not alcohol content, unlike the big producers.” He had even distilled a batch of beer from a Tasmanian craft brewery that wasn’t quite right. Let’s see what that will taste like in a few years.
My final tasting was at the Richmond Tasting House, a short 30 minute drive through rustic Tasmanian countryside. Crisp mornings and long twilights are interspersed with majestic scenery making Tasmania the perfect place to visit in Autumn. Richmond compresses all the history of Tasmania into one small village. Home to Australia’s oldest bridge still in use—a majestic sandstone structure arching over the Coal River—it was built using convict labour in 1823. The village streetscape still harks back to another era, with Ye Olde pub, store and lowly shop, although now the shopkeepers of yesteryear have been replaced with fashionable clothing, local crafts and antiques.
Richmond Tasting House combines the best of local Tasmanian produce in one shopfront, with whiskies, gins and wines, plus fudges, toffees and preserves and then some. What makes this a perfect last stop on the tour is that Richmond is just a 10 minute drive from Hobart’s airport, so there’s no need to hurry back to catch my flight, I can take my time to appreciate all the good produce that Tasmania has to offer. And I’ve left enough room in the carry-on for a few bottles of Tasmania’s finest whiskies collected along the way.
As Johnny Carson, a lover of fine whisky, eloquently put it, “Happiness is having a rare steak, a bottle of whisky, and a dog to eat the rare steak.”