Tasmania – Whisky and Aviation come together at Launceston Distillery.
A WHISKY BLOG BY OUR FRIEND HOLLY … This distillery is after my own heart. It is located right at the Launceston Airport in an old, 1930’s hangar. As I pulled up to the hangar I was watching a Navy plane arrive. I met with Chris Condon who is one of the 5 co-owners of the distillery. Launceston Distillery is owned by a handful of co-owners and a few silent shareholders. The owners come from various backgrounds including previous distillers, marketing experts and other locals of the Launceston area. Chris actually used to be the lead brewer at the James Boag Brewery. The first distillate ran off the stills in October 2015 and the owners decided from the beginning that this was a whisky distillery. They have only produced whisky since this first run and have no intention to make Launceston gin or vodka. Later this year around November they will legally have whisky after it has been in the oak barrels for 2 years. Of course we started testing just to be safe while I was there!
You enter the hangar and the whole whisky making process is right in front of you. You will also be greeted by Chris’ dog Angus. He’s the perfect guard dog for the distillery. The goal for their new make spirit was to have a light, but full fruity flavor. I was able to try their new make spirit and wanted to share my tasting notes. They fill their casks with the spirit at 63.4% ABV and fill all different types of casks. They feel their new make spirit ages best in ex-bourbon casks but they also have a decent amount of sherry and port casks. Most of their spirit has been put in 20 liter and 100 liter casks. In the beginning they will release a few different bottlings. They plan on doing some cask strength releases along with 46% ABV single cask releases. At the moment as you can imagine, they are focusing on quality and consistency. There are plans to bottle and label on site. I know it feels like Fall 2017 is far away, but it will be here before you know it and hopefully in 2018 we will see the launch of Launceston Distillery and whisky to the market!
To read the whole blog and see more images, click on http://www.herwhiskylove.com/single-post/2017/02/26/Whisky-and-Aviation-come-together-at-Launceston-Distillery