How Sullivan’s Cove set out to make the world’s best whisky

Sullivan’s Cove was established in 1994 when Tasmanian entrepreneur Robert Hoskin acquired a building on Hobart’s seafront.

His initial plan was to open a brewery, the building looked like one, and he thought, “why not brew a beer?” But that plan changed after Hoskin joined a government delegation trip to Japan, which would ultimately set Tasmania on course to global whisky recognition.

Sullivan’s Cove CEO Andy Gaunt told Bars & Cocktails: “While Robert is on the trip to Japan he gets really inspired by seeing Japanese business people drinking single malt whisky in Roppongi and Ginza while eating abalone.

“He thinks to himself ‘we’ve got some of the world’s best abalone in Tasmania, and we’ve got this incredible environment for produce. There are other people making beer already, but no-one is making whisky. I’m going to go back and make the world’s best whisky in Tasmania’, and that’s what he sets out to do.

“Bill Lark had just got his licence, so Robert knows licences are available and he builds probably the first purpose-built distillery in Australia. But there is also the timing of this, because in the late 80s and early 90s, Diageo started investing in its single malts, their classic malts and that’s a big investment in building the single malts category.

“So, for Robert to start a single malt distillery in Tasmania, in the mid-90s was a really pioneering thing to do. Then Pat McGuire joins, and it’s really Pat who creates the making philosophy of Sullivan’s Cove.”

“It’s a philosophy that is very different to any other Tasmanian distillery.”

ANDY GAUNT

Crafting a distinct whisky philosophy

One of the first major differences between Sullivan’s Cove and other whisky distilleries was that the team never went to Scotland to see how the Scots were doing it. Instead, they studied spirit-making traditions from around the world, adopting the best ideas and ignoring convention.

“We’ve looked at those traditions and picked different aspects of spirit making,” Andy said. “Our still is an Alembic Charentais still, so a Cognac still, because Robert’s thinking was ‘Cognacs are some of the finest spirits in the world, so let’s use a Cognac still’. We do use Worm Tubs, we’re the only distillery in Tasmania using Worm Tubs.

“It’s a very traditional Scottish approach, it is also a very inefficient way to make whisky, but it helps make a particular type of spirit.”

Pat also recognised Tasmania’s unique cool maritime climate, shaping a maturation style that defied commercial logic but elevated quality.

“Pat’s already understood the climate dynamic in Tasmania and he’s understood that he doesn’t want to play in a game of small barrels and fast maturation – which is the most obvious thing to do from a business model point of view.

“Right from the beginning it has been about large casks and long maturation, and to do that we needed to make a new make spirit that is going to be big, powerful and oily to hold up in Tasmania’s climate.”

To achieve that, Sullivan’s Cove introduced long, 10-day fermentations to craft a robust new make spirit suited to long ageing in large casks.

Through the 2000s and early 2010s, the distillery continued to operate quietly and cautiously — producing small volumes, managing cash flow tightly, and focusing on quality rather than speed.

At the time, there was little demand for Australian whisky. But all that changed in 2014.

“Then in 2014 everything changes – everything,” Andy said. “That’s the moment Sullivan’s Cove wins the World’s Best Whisky Award, and that is a game changer, not just for Sullivan’s Cove and Australian distilling, but for new world whisky as well.”

“It’s the first time that new world whisky is put on the world map as a serious, credible player – rather than what it had been before.”

Andy GAUNT

“This is the first time that a distillery that is not from Scotland or Japan has won that award and it changed everything for new world whisky.”

The award transformed Sullivan’s Cove into a global name overnight — but success also brought the challenges of demand.

Because the distillery had always prioritised long ferments and long maturations, production volumes were small, and stock was extremely limited.

Staying true to philosophy

“Two things happened at that time around 2015-16 that are incredibly important as to what we are now able to do,” Andy explained. One is that Pat chose not to release any younger whiskies to meet the increased demand. He decided to stay true to the whisky-making philosophy of long maturations for 10 to 12 years, which in the context of a 30-year-old industry is incredibly long.

“The other thing that happened was some new owners came into the business with investment that meant the distillery, and Pat, were able to harness that award, take the benefit of that award. What we did was to increase production, which we did back in 2015-16.”

For the next decade, the distillery focused on managing tight supply and global demand, with allocations kept low.

“For the next 10 years it has been about managing this lack of supply, because we haven’t compromised on that making philosophy, so we’ve had to manage allocations and the business has had a focus on single casks.

“The heart and soul of our distillery is our Double Cask, which is a fantastic vatting of American and French oak. We’re quite well-known for single casks, where we are releasing 300 bottles of something, so the demand is very high, and we just can’t supply everyone. We’ve been holding allocations really tight over the last 10 years and that has created the consequence, which is a cult, highly revered whisky.”

Cult status and global recognition

Andy said Sullivan’s Cove’s global profile is continuing to strengthen.

“I’ve travelled to Singapore and Hong Kong as well around Australia the last few months and it is great that Sullivan’s has got such good recognition amongst the bar and restaurant trade and the whisky community. Almost all say ‘I’ve heard of Sullivan’s Cove, but I’ve never tried it’.

“So there’s this wonderful position that 10 years on from the decision [to increase production], the whisky that was laid down 10 years ago is now at maturation. That allows us to now open up allocations in a way that we haven’t been able to do for the last five to 10 years.”

While supply has grown slightly, it remains small compared to demand. Maintaining Sullivan’s Cove’s super-premium position is central to Andy’s strategy; just as staying true to the whisky’s making philosophy was key for Pat McGuire a decade earlier.

“While supply is higher, the distillery is coming off such a small base that there still isn’t huge amounts available,” Andy said.

As Sullivan’s Cove enters its next chapter, Andy’s approach mirrors the distillery’s founding ambition: to create the world’s best whisky, made slowly, honestly, and with absolute respect for the craft.