Waubs Harbour Original (Batch 02)

Sydney Whisky Show May 20th 2023. Whisky #19 Nose: Malt, caramel, peanut brittle and a light maritime note. Over time, and with a drop of water, I noticed raisins and floral red fruit notes. Palate: A sweet, salted caramel and toffee arrival. Lots of evidence of first-fill bourbon maturation in the development with vanilla, coconut and a tiny hint of banana. Freshly-baked oatmeal cookies with white chocolate chips and raspberry pieces in the later palate. The texture is creamy. Finish: Medium. Malted milk and caramel with salted red berries in the aftertaste. Waubs Harbour distillery was founded at Bicheno on the east coast of Tasmania in 2018. Constructed on the site of a former oyster hatchery, some of the old hatchery buildings were renovated to become part of the distillery. It is built literally on the water line, like Bowmore on Islay, and like Bowmore it also matures its casks by the sea. The distillery is consciously striving for a maritime influence on their whisky and they are following Scottish production techniques that are suited to stable lower temperatures and high maritime humidity. They are also cultivating their own liquid yeast strains, which is a fantastic development to see in our local industry which has been constrained by the use of commercial dried brewer's yeast for decades. This expression was matured mostly in ex-bourbon barrels but some of the spirit was fully matured in Australian tawny (i.e. port) casks. This is a core part of their range but it is being released in batches of a few hundred bottles at a time and some batch variation should be expected (and celebrated). I thoroughly enjoyed this young Tassie whisky. It is well balanced and like the Cape Byron whiskies from north coast NSW it is very much in the tradition of Scottish maritime whisky without simply being a copy. This is exactly the path I hope to see many other local distilleries follow in future. The only criticism I have (although it has not affected my rating) is that this is just too expensive. AUD$170 for a half-litre bottle is over the top - that's equivalent to $238 for a 700ml bottle, and for that money I can buy a bottle of Ledaig 18 year old plus a 6-pack of Belgian trappist ale. No contest, I'm afraid. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)