- Tasmanian whisky label Sullivans Cove has partnered with global members’ community The Whisky Club to unveil a new Batch Strength Double Cask release.
- Created by distillery manager Heather Tillott alongside The Whisky Club team, the new Sullivans Cove Batch Strength Double Cask marks the first time the expression has been made using only fortified and wine casks.
- Bottled at 55.4% ABV batch strength, the limited edition release is crafted using a unique marriage of French oak Tawny, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and American oak Apera casks.
- The Sullivans Cove Batch Strength Double Cask is available exclusively to The Whisky Club members for $290 and presented in 700mL bottles without chill filtration or any added colour.
Few labels in the pantheon of great whisky have attained the legendary status of Sullivans Cove. Back in the mid 2010s, when Australian whisky production was still finding its footing, the unassuming distillery in the quaint Tasmanian suburb of Cambridge was taking the fight directly to the stalwarts of Scotland and Ireland. Perhaps even more remarkably, it was coming out on top.
Across a landmark decade to 2025, the small-production outfit claimed not one, but four ‘World’s Best’ awards, including a history-making Single Malt title in 2014 that helped ignite a distilling renaissance Down Under. In many ways, that French Oak Ex-Tawny Cask Nº: HH0525 proved to the world that Australian whisky punched well above its weight and more than a decade later, dram-lovers are still clamouring for a chance to get their hands on a bottle of the Tassie producer’s best.
And yet, Sullivans Cove’s latest release could well be its most divisive.
Sullivans Cove Batch Strength Double Cask
The legendary Tasmanian whisky label has teamed up with global members’ community The Whisky Club to unveil a new Batch Strength Double Cask release. Described as the darkest, richest Double Cask that Sullivans Cove has ever released, the new expression employs a decidedly more heavy-handed approach, courtesy of a ‘never-before-seen’ cask profile.
To create the Batch Strength Double Cask, The Whisky Club and Sullivans Cove distillery manager Heather Tillott opted for a unique marriage of French oak Tawny, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and American oak Apera casks. The end result, The Whisky Club general manager Seamus Carroll tells me, is the first expression made using only fortified and wine casks.
”This is the first ever Batch Strength Sullivans Cove Double Cask, bottled at 55.4%,” Carroll explains. ”Members love a rich syrupy whisky, so if there was any chance to do that we were going to take it. We’re all big fans of their single casks, but Double Cask is often greater than the sum of its parts.”
The Parts
Carroll isn’t wrong. Since it was first released more than a decade ago, the Double Cask lineup has epitomised the label’s remarkable dedication to the art of blending; each release fused with the distinctive profiles of both French and American oak casks. It’s a process that adds not only a more complex flavour, but also a certain intangible quality that only comes with time. In fact, if you ask Carroll, the latest collaboration comes a full ten years in the making.
”We’ve wanted to work with Sullivans Cove for years, but we were waiting for the right project. We didn’t want to release a Sullivans just for the sake of it.”
”Heather is such a big part of what makes Sullivans Cove special, so we really wanted her involved in creating something really unique for our collaboration,” Carroll says. ”It was a fantastic process. We went down to the distillery and spent a good afternoon in the blending room with the team, working through a range of previous Double Cask releases and cask samples. That helped us define the direction to create a dram we knew members would genuinely cherish.”
Inside the Process
Working in tandem, Heather and The Whisky Club undertook a lengthy production and sampling process, pulling from the coveted back catalogue and diving deep into the Cambridge distillery’s archives. What they landed on was a ‘glorious’ liquid that just so happened to also be the darkest, richest, and highest ABV Double Cask Sullivans Cove has ever created.
”It’s also notable that this is the first Double Cask made entirely from fortified and wine casks,” Carroll says. ”There’s French oak Tawny, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and an Australian Apera cask in the mix. That combination, along with the higher strength, really drives the richness and power. Ultimately, it feels like Heather and the team are flexing a bit, leaning in and delivering something genuinely special for members.”
What elevates the Sullivans Cove Batch Strength Double Cask beyond a simple blend is the slow, deliberate maturation process. Through age and oak, the individual elements are able to better integrate and evolve into something more cohesive and complete. The fruit is more pronounced and the corners are typically softened for a more palatable experience, but that’s where the new expression deviates from the standard. At 55% ABV, the new limited edition Double Cask explodes in an ”an unprecedented riot” of rich red fruit, caramel and spice.
”The whisky’s got all of that signature weighty, thick style that Sullivans Cove is known for, but also the layering and complexity that comes from the Double Cask approach,” Carroll says.
World’s First Full Batch Strength Sullivans Cove Double Cask
For Sullivans Cove fans, the new Double Cask marks an important milestone; the continuation of a rich vein of form. For years, the Tasmanian whisky producer has been shelling out exceptional releases that speak to the subtle art of blending, but this time around, mastery takes a back seat to experimentation. And whisky lovers from around the globe are all the better for it.
”We get to work with the biggest distilleries in the world, be it Scotland, Ireland, Japan, America or anywhere else,” Carroll says. ”When you can collaborate with local distilleries to create something that is truly world class, that’s always a special moment.”
The Sullivans Cove Batch Strength Double Cask is available exclusively for The Whisky Club members. Priced at AUD$290, it is presented in 700mL bottles without chill filtration or any added colour. The limited edition expressions will arrive on Friday 1 May, with existing members able to reserve their bottle today.
Sullivans Cove Batch Strength Double Cask Technical Specifications
- Brand: Sullivans Cove x The Whisky Club
- Expression: Batch Strength Double Cask
- Maturation: French oak and American oak
- Age: Cask vintages dating from 2014
- ABV: 55.4%
- Region: Tasmania, Australia
- Price: AUD$290
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