Part 1 gave us the climate. Part 2 goes to what it means to be a whisky maker inside a community of whisky makers, making whisky for a community of drinkers. Robbie came up through Lark, Overeem and Redlands before building Derwent from scratch in the Derwent Valley, and spent four years as TWSA president along the way. He’s part of what I’ve been calling Tasmania’s third wave, distillers who’ve worked across multiple brands and carry the learning of the whole scene.
A few moments worth your listening time.
The first whisky distilling licenses were issued in Australia, long before Scotland. Why that industry was shut down in 1838, and why it stayed shut for 153 years, is a story about export sales as much as temperance. I’ll let him tell it.
The barrel is a filter, not the author of a whisky’s fate. Robbie’s response to the old “the barrel gives it 80% of the flavour” line: if that’s true, you’re not drinking whisky, pal. The spirit does the talking; the barrel strips what’s not needed and gives what is. Whether you agree or not, it explains why Derwent’s signature is mouthfeel rather than any single flavour, and why the Botrytis Cask remains my baseline for the style.
We talk about the case for Australia and New Zealand claiming their own category on the world stage instead of being filed under “new world whisky,” and the forthcoming risk… Scotch unity was forged by crisis, and Australasia’s opportunity is to build it without one. But can we?
Pour something Tasmanian and press play. This is one for the whiskylovers and the curious.
