Past Releases

See below for a list and descriptions of our various limited and historical releases from years past.

Twenty Fifth Anniversary

2019

Sullivans Cove 25th Anniversary 21yo was released in October of 2019 in celebration of our 25th Anniversary year. This whisky is to date the oldest official distillery bottling of Australian single malt whisky ever. Distilled in 1997, this whisky was matured in four 200L American oak ex-bourbon casks which were vatted together and bottled at 49.6% ABV. This piece of liquid history is presented in a crystal decanter by Glencairn with packaging that reflects the original Sullivans Cove decanters from the mid 1990s, and came with a numbered certificate of authenticity signed by our Head Distiller Patrick Maguire and Production Manager Heather Tillott. The release also won Best Australian Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards in 2020.

Product info
  • 21 years old
  • 502 bottles
  • 49.6% ALC/VOL
  • 770ml
  • $1,800

Winter Feast

2014 - Present

Every year we do an extremely limited run of bottles for the Dark Mofo festival, available exclusively at our Winter Feast food festival stand. Known in house as "the Witches Brew" this is a chance for our best blending palates to have fun and go a bit crazy, using the full depth and breadth of the liquid we have in the warehouse to create a truly unique single malt whisky. In 2019, we produced 87 bottles, a combination of small amounts from over 200 different casks ranging from 8 to 21 years old and from various cask styles and sizes.

Winter Feast 2021 Edition: 110 bottles at 52.3% abv
Winter Feast 2020 Edition: 79 bottles at 50.2% abv
Winter Feast 2019 Edition: 87 bottles at 49.8% abv
Winter Feast 2018 Edition: 82 bottles at 55.9% abv
Winter Feast 2017 Edition: 80 bottles at 47.1% abv
Winter Feast 2016 Edition: 30 bottles at 50.6% abv
Winter Feast 2015 Edition: 54 bottles at 48% abv
The MONA Blend 2014 Edition: 48 bottles at 45.6% abv

Product info
  • < 100 bottles
  • Variable Alc/Vol
  • 700ml

Cask Strength American Oak

2018

While technically a current label, we haven't released a cask strength whisky since early 2018. The reason being our natural cask strength tends to be well in excess of 70% ABV these days, which we think is just too hot to drink. But we're not opposed to the idea of bottling cask strength whiskies if we find one that's nice to drink without dilution, and that's what happened with this one. Cask number TD0126 was released in early 2018 at a natural cask strength of 69.1% ABV and sold out very quickly.

Product info
  • 170 bottles
  • 69.1% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

Casa de Vinos Collaboration

2018

This releases was a collaboration bottling between Sullivans Cove, La Maison du Whisky Singapore and Casa de Vinos, one of Australia's best boutique bottle shops. Bottled at 58% abv from a single, 12yo, French oak cask that previously held Australian white wine (TD0114), this whisky was sold at Whisky Live Singapore in 2018, as well as at Casa de Vinos in Melbourne and from Sullivans Cove Cellar Door. The artwork on the label was specially commissioned by Sullivans Cove from Tasmanian artist Tom Samek, known for his playful figures often depicted enjoying food and drink. The original woodcut shows a man, who's face is shaped like a pot still, wearing a crown of barley.

Product info
  • 268 bottles
  • 58% ALC/VOL
  • $450
  • 700ml

Privately Owned Casks

2008-2019

Whenever you see a dark red label like this, you're looking at a bottle of Sullivans Cove whisky that came from a privately owned cask. The majority of these were bottled as part of our Cellarmaster programme (no longer running), during which we invited fans of Sullivans to purchase a 20L cask that we would age for 2 years and then bottle for them. These casks cost between $4,250 to $4,800 and produced approximately 25 bottles each. While these smaller casks have produced some cracking whisky, they are quite different from our usual releases, which are aged for between 9 and 18 years in 200 and 300 litre casks. Also, because these casks are privately owned, they have not been through our usual tasting evaluation prior to bottling, and were not authorised by Sullivans Cove for retail sale, although of course what the owners decide to do with their bottles is up to them.

Product info
  • Single Cask
  • Variable ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

Independent Bottlings

Ongoing

From time to time, independent bottlings of whisky produced at Sullivans Cove Distillery become available on the market. These may be whiskies which have been sold in bulk at a young age and matured in another location, moved to different casks for finishing, blended with other whiskies or purchased already matured. These are not distillery endorsed releases. Examples include Indefatigable 1812, Corowa, Heartwood and The Exile. See the vendors for further info on each release.

Manifesto

2015

A very special release that produced only two 1.8 litre decanters containing a mixture of Sullivans Cove's most highly awarded whiskies, including a portion of cask HH0525, winner of the World's Best Single Malt Whisky award in 2014. The decanters themselves were hand-blown by a Tasmanian glass artist, and presented in a locally hand-crafted Huon Pine presentation box lined with doe skin.

Product info
  • 2 decanters produced
  • 1800ml
  • $10,000
  • 47.9% ALC/VOL

Wooden Boat Festival

2009

Bottled as a special release for the Hobart Wooden Boat Festival in 2009, this bottling was made up of various 8yo casks and cask samples.

Product info
  • 312 Bottles
  • 43% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

Auckland Whisky Live

2008

This was a single American oak ex-bourbon cask (HH0044) bottled especially for the first ever Auckland Whisky Live. It was produced on request of Malts of Distinction who was our distributor in New Zealand at the time. Patrick went over to Auckland for whisky live with this whisky in tow and had a great time. Distilled in 1999 at the Gasworks site and bottled in 2008. Although the label says "cask strength" we believe this was a mistake in the printing of the special Whisky Live label, and that this was in fact bottled at 47%, as is also stated on the label.

Product info
  • 276 bottles produced
  • 700ml
  • 47% ALC/VOL

Sydney to Hobart

2008

An 8 year old bottled specially for the Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race. A 500 litre barrel was filled with matured 8YO American Oak & French Oak Sullivans Cove. Then a 15 litre barrel was filled from the 500L barrel, taken to Sydney and bolted into the hull of Scandia; a maxi competing in the race that year. On arrival at Hobart we were waiting at Constitution dock where we removed the barrel, took it back to the distillery, added it back into the 500 litre barrel and bottled it on the spot. It was sold around the dock and through the distillery over the following weeks. We tried the same thing over the next two years however Scandia did not make it to Hobart either time, a broken canting keel stopped it the second race and a broken mast the third race, making the 2008 edition the only successful version of this bottling, and a real collectors item.

Product info
  • 936 Bottles
  • 43% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

Fourth Generation Cask Strength

2008-2016

These cask strength, single cask French and American Oak bottlings were an evolution of the cask strength Sullivans Cove style from 500ml bottles to 700ml with the modern branding. The ABV was still standardised to 60% at the time, but that practice would soon end. Patrick found that after talking to whisky fans at trade shows they were more concerned about quality and provenance than price and they expected 700ml bottles at natural cask strength, so he started to move in that direction. This particular era of French Oak Cask Strength is an all time favourite for the crew at Whisky & Alement.

Product info
  • Unknown number of bottles produced
  • 60% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

Fourth Generation Sullivans Cove

2008-2016

This was the first modern version of the standard Sullivans Cove range. These labels finally gave Sullivans Cove a unique identity that would become an Australian icon, and is the basis for the branding we use to this day. Like the current Sullivans rage, this range featured French and American Oak single cask bottlings at 47.5% abv and the vatted Double Cask, anew idea at that time, at 40% abv. These bottles were also the first to feature the side tag with unique cask and bottle info for each batch. At that time, the distillery was known as "Tasmania Distillery" and Sullivans Cove was just the brand name for the whisky produced there. Now both the distillery and the whisky are called Sullivans Cove, so you won't see "Tasmania Distillery" on the labels anymore.

Product info
  • Unknown number of bottles produced
  • 40-47.5% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

Sullivans Cove Third Generation Cask Strength

2004-2007

This was the "cask strength" bottling of 3rd generation Sullivans Cove, released from 2004 until 2007 when the modern branding came in. These were single cask bottlings, and there were both "French Oak Port" (pictured) and "American Oak Bourbon" styles. While the labels say "cask strength" the abv on these releases was actually standardised to 60% - a practice we no longer engage in. These whiskies were sold in 500ml bottles in order to keep the taxes down because of the high ABV. This was at a time when consumers were still wary of Aussie whisky, so price was a major factor.

Product info
  • Unknown number of bottles produced
  • 60% ALC/VOL
  • 500ml

Sullivans Cove Third Generation

2004-2007

This was the American oak-ex bourbon version of the second generation of Sullivans Cove single malt whisky, distilled at the original Gasworks site by the second group of owners (1999-2003), but released by Patrick in the early days of the Cambridge distillery. Probably 5-6 years old, single cask. Patrick wasn't a big fan of the branding so he replaced it with the modern bottle shape and design soon after taking over.

Product info
  • Unknown number of bottles produced
  • 40% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

Franklin River

~2004

A very limited release from the third group of owners, including Patrick Maguire, who took over the business in 2004 and raised it to its current standards, Franklin River Single Malt was a bottling of the only leftover whiskies from the original ownership that was of acceptable quality to Pat and his crew. Reminiscent of a young Sullivans Cove Double Cask, this very rare whisky is actually pretty good stuff.

Product info
  • Unknown number of bottles produced
  • 40% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

Old Hobart Cask Strength

2000-2003

Old Hobart was a high-proof, single cask version of Sullivans Cove distilled at the original gasworks distillery site in the late 1990s. The whisky would have been between 3-5 years old and aged in American oak casks. It was not actually cask strength, but diluted to 60% from a cask strength of at least 65%. When Jim Murray visited the distillery in 2004, this was the first whisky he tried that he really liked, telling Patrick he should focus on that style. That provided important expert feedback and helped us develop our American oak aged whiskies, which would become the defining style of Sullivans Cove Distillery.

Product info
  • Unknown number of bottles produced
  • 60% ALC/VOL
  • 500ml

Sullivans Cove Second Generation

2000

This whisky was distilled by the original owners of Sullivans Cove at the Gasworks site, and the liquid would have been very similar to the 1st generation Sullivans Cove - aged in American oak for only 2-3 years, and bottled one cask at a time (single cask) by the second group of owners who took over in 1999. This whisky didn't sell very well, so after Patrick took over in 2003 all of the reaming bottles were decanted and the liquid used to make whisky liqueur or sold to food manufacturers for whisky flavouring.

Product info
  • Unknown number of bottles produced
  • 40% ALC/VOL
  • 375ml

Millenium Gold

2000

Released in 2000 to celebrate the turn of the millennium, Millennium Gold would have been aged for no more than three years in either an un-charred virgin American Oak barrel, or an ex-boubon barrel.

Product info
  • Unknown number of bottles produced
  • 40% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

Sullivans Cove First Generation Standard Release

1997-1999

This bottling was the standard release of whisky produced by Sullivans Cove after the first release decanter. It would have been between two and five years old. Mostly aged in 300L, un-charred virgin American oak casks or 200L American oak ex-bourbon casks. Produced under the original ownership of the brand, well before Patrick took over, the liquid in these bottles is very different in style and age to modern Sullivans Cove. However, it was distilled using the very same equipment we use to this day and therefore shares the DNA of our unique single malt Tasmanian whisky.

Product info
  • Unknown number of bottles produced
  • 40% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

First Release Sullivans Cove Decanter

1997

This commemorative decanter was the first ever release of single malt whisky distilled, aged and bottled by Sullivans Cove. Distilled in March 1995 and bottled in March of 1997, this whisky was the first release of genuine Tasmanian single malt whisky in over 150 years, and the very first of the modern Australian whisky era. This single cask whisky was aged in a medium toasted, 300L, virgin American Oak cask coopered especially for Sullivans Cove and bottled at 40% abv, producing aproximately 650 bottles.

Product info
  • Approx. 650 bottles produced
  • 40% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml

Sullivans Cove Pre-Release Bottling

1994-1997

This was the first ever release of whisky under the Sullivans Cove name. Like many start-up distilleries, the first bottling of Sullivans Cove was not actually produced by the distillery, but was in fact an independent bottling of whisky produced elsewhere to provide income while the first batch of whisky reached maturity. The liquid in these bottles was blended Scotch whisky imported from the UK. There are no remaining records on where exactly it came from or what it was comprised of, but it was not single malt, and it was not produced in Australia. The original owners of Sullivans Cove got themselves into a spot of hot water by not being clear enough on the label about the providence of this whisky, but by 1997 they had their own whisky to bottle anyway. Although the labels in this old picture (taken from 25yo slides we found in storage) look black, they were actually dark green.

Product info
  • Unknown number of bottles produced
  • 40% ALC/VOL
  • 700ml