Waubs Harbour Yeast Cask Limited Edition

Nose: Orange liqueur, raisins soaked in cognac, stewed peaches, manuka honey, maple syrup and deep, deep rich oak aromas. It’s magnificent. With a few drops of water it changes its character completely, like an actor performing a lightning change of costume mid-routine. Floral aromas (jonquil, honeysuckle and apple blossom) appear and the whisky gains an expansive, relaxed character. 90/100 Palate: When tasted neat the whisky has a sweet arrival with the raisins in cognac and orange from the nose excellently represented. There is a moderate hit of hot cinnamon as the development takes off but it just provides a flash of interest and is quickly followed by dark fruitcake and chocolate sauce. The texture is wonderfully oily and full. Adding water changes the experience but it is just as good. The raisins become sultanas and the cognac note becomes sauternes. The fruitcake becomes panforte and the chocolate becomes mocha. The texture loses a little weight but gains creaminess. 90/100 Finish: Very Long. Raisins, sultanas, plums and mixed peel that last for ages, finally fading into sweet orange. There is beautiful integration and progression throughout. 90/100 Waubs Harbour is a fairly young distillery and is located on the east coast of Tasmania in a former oyster hatchery. The head distiller, Robert Polmear, was previously the head of production at Lark Distillery and head distiller at Overeem Distillery. The distillery is developing their own yeast strains in-house, and I believe this is unique in Australia. This expression is the first product made using that yeast. I first tasted their whisky at the Sydney Whisky Show in 2023 and I was very impressed by their initial releases but this expression is on another level. I don’t hand out 5 star ratings very often but I couldn’t give this whisky anything less. It’s technically faultless spirit and is bewitchingly delicious to drink Imagine the best Aberlour A’Bunadh you have ever tasted crossed with the best Balvenie and you are getting close. In fact it’s almost as good as the 2006/2020 Balblair (see review here on distiller) that I gave 92/100, and yet amazingly this is probably less than 5 years old! It’s juicy and chewy and the finish lasts forever. The 51.8% abv is completely contained and unobtrusive but does its job of carrying aroma and flavour with poise and precision. This was a limited release of 647 bottles and it is now almost impossible to find. The original retail price was AUD$250 for a half-litre bottle which is expensive but it is worth every cent. If I saw it for up to $350 I’d buy a second bottle. Highest recommendation. Keep watching Waubs Harbour distillery, they are doing very special things. “Outstanding” : 90/100 (5 stars)