McHenry

On my recent visit to the Tasman Peninsula to walk the Three Capes Track, I couldn't leave without making a stop at McHenry Distillery. As I pulled into the car park, a wedge tailed eagle soared above and sun filtered through the forest. It's a beautiful spot that reminded me of our own home up in the hills. Some time back, wandering through Salamanca Market with my mum, I stopped to try McHenry's Classic Dry Gin and a bottle came home in my shopping bag. It's definitely now my favourite gin. Anyway, the last bottle ran out last year and I was keen to see where it was made. In the cosy tasting room (pictured here) I tried their Federation Gin, which uses one botanical from every state of Australia, and a bottle came home with me too. I had a brief tour around the distillery and bond store. If you're visiting Port Arthur, make sure McHenry's is on your itinerary. I doubt you'll leave empty handed.

Whisky school

Sounds like a pretty good kind of school, right? And it is. The Tasmanian Whisky Academy runs courses and industry education and events. I attended their Foundations of Distilling course this week, together with aspiring distillers from as far afield as Townsville, the Sunshine Coast and the Macleay valley. It was a cracking couple of days packed with information. For whisky and gin lovers, the course is a great insight into the process of producing the beautiful crafted beverages we enjoy. For anyone thinking about starting their own distillery, it provides both loads of inspiration and a healthy reality check. Either way, you'll learn at least a few things you didn't know about the art and business of distilling.

After a morning covering the distilling process and an overview of the business with Sullivans Cove head distiller Patrick Maguire, one of the 'founding fathers' of Tasmania's whisky industry, we took a trip out to local brewery Moo Brew. There we learned from brewer Rowl about the brewing process and how the 'wash' is made, from the supply of quality malted barley, through milling, mashing and fermenting. In the past, Moo Brew has supplied several of Tasmania's best whisky makers with their wash, although at present they are concentrating on other things, such as an exciting whisky barrel aged stout that we were lucky enough to taste.

We spent the afternoon at award winning whisky maker Sullivans Cove for a walk through the distillation process from delivery of the wash to the barrel, where it stays for at least 12 years, and beyond. The sheer amount of whisky knowledge stored in production manager Heather's head really blew me away. At home that evening, David handed me an article from this week's Tasmanian Country newspaper about how a bottle of Sullivans Cove American Oak Single Cask had sold for $11,667 in an auction through Christies of London. And proceeds from the sale will go to charity. Wow. It was one of the last remaining bottles of this year's world's best single cask single malt.

The following morning we were out at Nonesuch Distillery, a boutique Tasmanian distiller of small batch spirits, primarily gin and now whisky. Owner and distiller Rex is truly passionate about his product - and you have to be - as he said, there's no point making gin you don't want to drink. It was great to see a smaller, newer distillery in operation and the solutions Rex has come up with to a wide range of challenges. Everyone I've met in the industry so far (I'm sure there are exceptions) is so supportive of others wanting to follow them. Our group asked lots of questions, and even the cheeky ones (a gin maker's recipe is always a secret) were answered with expertise, experience and good humour. The spirit of coopetition is alive and well in Tasmania's distilling industry. I took home a delicious sloe gin as well as some classic Nonesuch Dry Gin. Now I need to rearrange the 'drinks cabinet' to fit them in - not a bad problem to have.

From sheep whey to vodka

Turn water to wine? How about sheep whey to vodka? Hartshorn Distillery in Birchs Bay, Tasmania is doing exactly that. This week we attended a local business function hosted by the Kingborough & Huon Business Enterprise Centre. Owner and head distiller Ryan Hartshorn had the idea to turn a byproduct of his family's business Grandvewe Cheese, whey from sheep milk, into vodka and gin. We had a tour of the premises (I was happy to scratch the chin of one of their friendly sheep) followed by a tasting. The fermented whey is distilled in the pot still (pictured right) and to make gin, the spirit is distilled through the beautiful glass reflux still pictured below, passing through a blend of secret herbs and spices (well, botanicals) including some local Tasmanian flowers and leaves. Ryan even paints each bottle by hand, resulting in a truly ewe-nique product that would make a lovely gift from Tassie. I liked the "whisky-like" barrel aged vodka, so I bought a bottle to take home. P.S. For more sheepish humour courtesy of Grandvewe, see below.

Distillery with a difference

Tasmania now has at least ten whisky distilleries and quite a few making gin, vodka and other spirits. Recently, we visited one with a distinctly Tasmanian difference not all that far from home. At Bakehouse Distillery in Dover in Tasmania's far south, local blackheart sassafras leaves are used as one of the botanicals in their product Sassi Black. It's smooth and refreshing to drink, just what you'd want in something marketed as a digestiv or aperitif. We had a delicious platter of house-made breads, fermented foods like sauerkraut and smoked salmon to go with our drink. The distillery is open for tastings 4-6pm Friday to Sunday and 10am-noon on weekends, check them out on Instagram or Facebook. We'll be back with visitors someday for sure.

Redlands Distillery

I chose a perfect place to stop on the way to Launceston one gloomy day last week: Redlands Distillery in Dysart House, an 1840s colonial inn in the village of Kempton. There's a warm and inviting sitting room with leather couches to enjoy a bite to eat in. In my case, that was two enormous whisky soaked fruit scones with jam and cream and a lovely coffee. I'll have to go later in the day next time, as the lunch menu looked great. Redlands does of course produce whisky, which I haven't tried yet, but it was a little early in the morning for me, so I had a taste of their apple schnapps, produced using wash from Spreyton Cider in the north of the state.