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Whisky Review: Sullivan’s Cove American Oak

We review Sullivan's Cove American Oak, a single malt whisky made on the isolated Australian island of Tasmania.

OVERALL RATING

9
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Tasting Notes

About:

Appearance:
Clear gold
Nose:
Wowza! This is fun—a strangely tropical bouquet. Dark chocolate, banana, lily, jackfruit, freshly turned earth. If you’ve ever smelled real baijiu, this isn’t really like that, but it’s in the same universe. More malt, intense and grainy, emerges as you dig in, like sticking your nose in a bag of Munich malt.
Palate:
Rich and round, the entry is gentle, sweet, and earthy. There’s apple juice, mandarin, nectarine, and hay along with a hefty dose of pure, honeyed malt. A faintly juice-like tartness is discernible at the sides of the mouth, like biting into a slightly underripe apple. For all its freshness, I might have guessed it to be younger than it is—but maybe it’s just all that clean Tasmanian living.
Finish:
Comments:
Yum! This isn’t a showy whisky, but it’s a deeply pleasurable one—robust yet balanced, complex yet easy to enjoy. It’s not the trendiest style—kind of a fruit-forward Speyside—but it’s unusual and distinctive all the same. Very nice. rn

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Margarett Waterbury

Margarett Waterbury is the author of "Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland's Whiskies" and a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the beverage industry. Her work has graced the pages of numerous publications, including Whisky Advocate, Food and Wine, Spirited Magazine, Artisan Spirit, Edible Seattle, Sip Northwest, Civil Eats, Travel Oregon, and many others. She also boasts editorial experience as the former managing editor of Edible Portland and as a co-founder and former managing editor of The Whiskey Wash. In recognition of her talent, Margarett received the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer of the Year award in 2017 and was awarded fellowships for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in 2017 and 2019.

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