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Tassie takes on the 2019 World Whisky Awards

Posted by: Ted

Winner of the Best Australian Single Malt

Tasmanian whisky has been smashing gongs on the world stage again. The winners at the World Whisky Awards in London, widely recognised as the pinnacle for the industry, have just been announced and little ol’ Tassie has strutted it’s stuff in style. Repeat offenders Sullivans Cove, widely lauded for picking up Best Whisky in the World in 2014 and launching our little state squarely into the spotlight, has picked up the award for Best Single Cask Single Malt for the second year running. The drop that seduced the judges this year was TD0217, a rich, spicy, fruity French Oak cask release.

Even closer to home for Whisky Waffle was the winner of the Best Australia Single Malt, with Burnie locals Hellyers Road taking home the award for their Slightly Peated 10yo. When I congratulated Master Distiller Mark Littler and his team on the win he told me that “all of us at the distillery are very excited about receiving this global gong for the Slightly Peated 10YO. It is a London seal of approval supporting not only the quality of our whisky, but also our vision to create a world class whisky business from the North West Coast of Tassie”.

Congrats to Mark Littler and the Hellyers Road team!

Also worthy of mention is the winner of the World’s Best Single Malt (aka, the best of the best), the Teeling Whiskey 24yo Vintage Reserve, the first time an Irish drop has picked up the prestigious award.

Check out the rest of the winners here: http://www.worldwhiskiesawards.com

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Tasmanians on top of the world at the London World Whiskies Awards

Posted by: Ted

Sullivans Cove

Dear Sullivans Cove, can you do anything wrong these days? It’s only a year since the plucky little distillery from Hobart proved that they make a seriously top notch dram, with their French Oak Cask HH525 taking out World’s Best Single Malt Whisky at the 2014 World Whiskies Awards in London. So just to prove it wasn’t a fluke and that lightning can strike twice, they’ve been at it again, casually picking up Craft Distiller of the Year at the 2015 London WWA’s. Bert Cason from Sullivans Cove told Whisky Waffle that “it’s fantastic to know that we’re doing the right thing and being recognised for it! It means that the message that Tasmanian whisky is great is being hammered home more and more and this is starting to be accepted in the mainstream.”

Bottles of Sullivans Cove, produced at Tasmania Distillery, have already been walking out the door following their earlier success, so this new victory is liable to make them as rare as hens’ teeth. What will this mean for Sullivans Cove stocks over the next few years? “Fortunately, or unfortunately, it won’t make any difference now that we’re selling literally everything that we can,” admitted Bert “[but] we are ramping up production… and there will certainly be enough to go around pretty soon.” So keep a sharp eye out if you want a piece of the action fellow wafflers.

The Sullivans Cove crew aren’t the only Tasmanians to be lauded on the international stage. Having already taken out the ultra-prestigious Bill Lark Award in the 2014 Waffle Awards, the big man of Tasmanian whisky himself, Bill Lark, has continued his ascent into whisky sainthood. What could possibly top winning an award named after him from two local Tassie whisky bloggers you may ask? Well to be honest, being inducted into the Whisky Hall of Fame for services to the industry, the first antipodean distiller to be accorded this honour, probably does the trick. And who more rightly deserves it than the man who catalysed the revival of the Australian whisky industry and holds a big claim in the grand successes our distillers are enjoying today.

Keep on waffling you good Tasmanian things you.