This was a launch that made a big splash at the Gulch in Bicheno.
The occasion was the release of a new Tasmanian whisky, from Waubs Harbour Distillery. The distillation is not only a single malt, but a maritime whisky, a rarity in Tasmania where distilleries now number in the 80s.
And its first public outing attracted a high level of interest across the state The premier, Jeremy Rockliff, made the official launch, a visit followed by the Tourism Tas CEO Sarah Clark, along with celebrated Tasmanian whisky makers like Bill Lark, Casey Overeem, and Sullivans Cove’s Patrick McGuire.
A special guest was Aunty Patsy Cameron, a descendant of the Pairebeenne Trawlwoolway clan in Tasmania.The distillery is built in what was an oyster hatchery and its neighbouring abalone farm buildings on the gulch in Bicheno. Waubs Harbour is the original name of Bicheno.
Waubs Harbour was named after Wauba Debar, an Aboriginal woman kidnapped to become the wife of a sealer. She is remembered for swimming out to sea to rescue her husband after a shipwreck, and then rescuing his companion.
The maritime environment suggests some of the famous Scottish maritime distilleries like Talisker, says Bec Polmear, one of the founders. The place is owned by Bec and her husband Tim, in partnership with Tim’s brother, Rob Polmear. Rob was formerly Head of Production for Lark Distillery and Head Distiller of Overeem Whisky. Whisky is barrelled for a minimum of three years before being considered sufficiently matured for bottling and sale. An earlier iteration, also made by Rob Polmear and called a Preview Series, was successfully launched early 2022.In a thoughtful gesture, Waubs Harbour auctioned off the first bottle as a fund-raiser for the Great Southern Reef Foundation. It’s a 8000km stretch of reef which encircles Tasmania and runs outside the distillery’s doorstep, notes Bec. The auction raised more than $4000 towards the cause.Reflecting on the rapid growth of whisky – and other – distilleries in Tasmania over the past decade, Bec Polmear says it’s a really exciting time for a Tasmanian family to be in the whisky business. “And we’ll always be small-time, a bespoke producer,” she says “We like to joke that what we produce in Tasmania in a year is what the Scottish distillers lose in evaporation every day.“We’re young, we’re passionate and we’re confident.”Right there are a couple of additional ingredients essential to good whisky making.