Water of Life – Waubs Harbour Distillery
If you are remotely following this series, it should not have gone unnoticed that a deliberate effort has been made to cover Australian distilleries, with one of our foci firmly set on Tasmania.
Given that we yet have to encounter a distillery on Van Diemen’s land that does not know how to convince with its quality and dedication to provenance, it should go without saying that I find it difficult to contain my excitement every time a new entity pops up on my radar.
Enter Waubs Harbour Distillery.
Centred around the vision of the brothers Tim and Rob Polmear, the latter of which having honed his craft as the head of production and distilling at the Lark and Overeem Distilleries, Waubs Harbour Distillery incarnated as an endeavour to merge the borders of Tasmania’s coastal context, a connection to the land’s aboriginal heritage and the employment of the best techniques possible.
Located within the confines of a converted oyster hatchery and with the etymology of the distillery’s name derived from a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman, i.e. Wauba Debar, the way Waubs Harbour channels its alchemy in the creation of whiskey is borderline scientific in nature, centred around a forensic knowledge of why the particular elements within the spirit act in certain ways: With an in-house lab allowing experimentation with fermentation and yeast cultures, the complexity of distinct flavour profiles is calibrated to create Waub Harbour’s unique DNA, which is further enhanced by the salty, maritime terroir, the usage of pristine Tasmanian water and the naturally oily and richly flavoured barley from around the state.
What sealed the deal for me that apart from the aforementioned, Waubs Harbour experiments with local organic peat comprised of decayed coastal reeds, the local melaleuca tree and salt bush, thereby creating an authentic equivalent to what I love about Islay whiskies in terms of provenance and terroir.
Waubs Harbour Distillery’s limited Double Tawny Port expression is an example par excellence for a complex tour de force in terms of well-rounded flavours:
Briny, maritime aromas tickle the nostrils along with raisiny, brown sugary and vanilla toffee notes, the latter of which materializes via a buttery mouthfeel on the top of the mouth, flanked by sweet, eggy and crisp apple nuances. The mid-length finish culminates with a crescendo of plump, sweet, and juicy sultana tinged highlights.
Clocking in at a tame 43% ABV, a sessionable a sweet rounded port style whisky.
The Apera Bourbon Cask expression differs from the aforementioned in that it the ex-Sherry Casks add stewed fruit characteristics, which dance against a backdrop of spicy oak flavours derived from the maturation in ex-Bourbon cask. The common denominator is Waubs Harbour’s idiosyncratic maritime aromas, which are further enhanced by a well-calibrated composite of its cinnamon, esters, aldehydes and vanilla.
The palate is dominated by pronounced spiciness, sour flavours, a slight bitterness along with very little sweetness, with the finish reverberating with buttery dried fruits.
A favourite of Waubs Harbour’s current portfolio is the Apera Cask Strength exprression, which despite packing a punch with 63% ABV still artfully conveys subtleties, starting with a nose reminiscent of oak, caramel and salted vanilla and a flavour profile that ranges from a honey-like sweetness with a subtle hint of berries via a citrussy crispness to a pronounced spicy oakiness.
The finish is dangerously moreish as it provides the stage for poached pears singing with cashews and pistachios on a fundament of earthy oak.
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image from company website
