Sullivans Cove distillery is located in the island state of Tasmania. Established in 1994, it’s the second oldest single malt whisky distillery in Australia. And very highly awarded distillery, winning “World’s Best Single Cask Single Malt” at the World Whiskies Awards twice in a row.
First they grabbed the title with the expression in question, Sullivans Cove American Oak Single Cask (2018 version, not the one I’m reviewing). Following year they received the very same title with their French Oak Single Cask expression. Both expressions have received multiple over 90 point reviews in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.
But is it any wonder when looking at the specifications of this whisky:
Like I stated, this single cask Sullivans Cove malt whisky is the American oak cask matured version. Matured in small 200 liter bourbon cask. The version in question is bottle number 199 of 222 from barrel number TD0174. Distilled 16.11.2006 and bottled 16.1.2019 at 47,4% alcohol by volume level. So we are talking about very small batch whisky.
Many years ago I started a quest for finding a better whisky for my palate than Lagavulin 16 year old. That Lagavulin had become my benchmark for top notch whisky. And I know, I’m being bias all the time regarding Lagavulin 16YO. It was my entry whisky towards becoming an entusiasts.
So I’ve probably tasted better whiskies than Lagavulin’s flagship 16YO. In fact, the whisky isn’t even the same version it used to be back when I first had a sip. They’ve toned it down a bit. But the nostalgia keeps on fighting back and Lagavulin 16YO has been my most favorite expression ever since.
Until this Tasmanian delicacy came to my block! This Tasmanian single cask malt whisky is stunning. Unfortunately I didn’t own a whole bottle, I sampled this from my buddy’s bottle. But fortunately I managed to get another sample from that very same bottle with me. And when I returned to this golden liquid of gods, I could only express what I’d already said about this whisky:
Enchanting! So that’s when it struck me. This single malt had made it to the top of my list, over Lagavulin!
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Barrel TD0174, bottle number 199/222, distilled November 16, 2006. Bottled January 16, 2019.