Originally posted by Oz Whisky Review, a first look at our Waubs Harbour Range.

Australian maritime single malt whisky. The influence of the sea on the maturation and flavour profile of these whiskies is often palpable – think salty, sea spray, oyster shell and briny notes. It’s these flavours that Waubs Harbour Distillery are looking to emphasise in the whiskies they’re creating.

The distillery was founded in 2018 by Tim and Bec Polmear and Tim’s brother Rob (check out our interview with Tim and Bec for the full Waubs story). The intent was to create one of Australia’s most distinctively ‘maritime’ single malts, and the incredible location of the distillery in Bicheno on the Tasmanian east coast will definitely assist with that.

The whiskies themselves are an interesting representation of that location but also of Rob Polmear’s distilling background. Rob previously worked at Overeem and Lark and you feel the influence of those distilleries in Waubs single malts. There’s the Overeem finesse, tidiness and richness of flavour, but you also feel the nutty, toasty, biscuity notes present in Lark whiskies here as well.

Whether or not these early releases have captured the maritime, saline quality advertised, I’m not so sure. I tasted these Waubs Harbour malts next to a number of benchmark Scottish and Australian whiskies, and they don’t quite have the briny, saline grunge of the best practitioners of the style. But the early signs here are incredibly promising, and it will be fascinating to see how these smartly designed and executed whiskies develop in future.