Sullivans Cove's White Wine Cask Whisky Takes a Fourth World's Best Title at World Whiskies Awards

Tasmania's cult favourite single cask whisky producer Sullivans Cove has picked up the World's Best Single Cask Single Malt at the 2026 World Whiskies Awards in London, making it the fourth time the Tasmanian distillery has taken home a World's Best title – a first in the competition's history.

The winning whisky submission is an 18 Year Old French Oak ex-White Wine, Single Cask No. TD0112, and before you start reaching for your wallet: the TD0112 itself is sold out on the distillery's website (although this may still be available on the secondary market). The 225-litre French oak barrique yielded just 269 bottles at 50.6% ABV, and they were all gone well before the award was announced. This may sound familiar to long-time fans of the distillery. When Sullivans Cove won World's Best Single Malt for the first time in 2014 with cask HH0525, the distillery reportedly had just three bottles left on hand when the news broke. 

For those interested in the same family of whisky, Sullivans Cove's current wine cask releases - the same line as the TD0112 - offer the closest point of entry. 

White wine casks are less common in whisky maturation, compared to sherry, port, and red wine casks. Full-term maturation in a white wine cask for 18 years is unusual by any country's standards. The press release describes it as "a leading edge of maturation practice," and that is a fair characterisation. Sullivans Cove's own product page calls TD0112 its very first Old & Rare bottling drawn from this style of cask.

Heather Tillott, Director of Whisky Creation, described the process plainly: "These casks bring structure, brightness and tannin, which over extended time require both resilience from the spirit and precise, considered management in the bond store. Every stage of its maturation has been closely observed and carefully guided." Tillott added that decisions were made "incrementally, with a long view," and that the whisky was allowed to develop "without ever losing balance or clarity of character."

Sullivans Cove's previous World's Best wins came in 2014, 2018 and 2019. CEO Andy Gaunt framed the latest recognition as something broader than a single bottle: "To be recognised again at a global level speaks less to any single whisky, and more to the philosophy that underpins everything we do." He pointed to TD0112 result as evidence of what happens when a distillery works with its own conditions rather than following established pathways, noting that the win "challenges traditional expectations of maturation and highlights the quality of Australian wine casks when paired with the right spirit and long-term intent."

The distillery uses extended fermentation to build flavour complexity in the wash before distillation. Their stills are Charentais-style alembics, fitted with worm tub condensers, a combination intended to retain weight and texture in the spirit rather than stripping it out. They mature exclusively in full-size casks, which slows the interaction between spirit and wood and, in theory, allows for a more gradual, integrated development. Each cask is assessed individually throughout its life, and the distillery says bottling decisions are driven by sensory readiness rather than predetermined age statements. In practice, this means Sullivans Cove does not bottle to a schedule: the whisky comes out when the team decides it is ready.

Alongside the main win, the World Whiskies Awards also recognised two members of the Sullivans Cove team under their Icons of Whisky programme. Tillott was named Global Innovator Manager of the Year, while Marcelo Viapiana, the distillery's Supply Chain Manager, received the Global Warehouse Manager of the Year. Viapiana described his focus as "removing friction without ever compromising the whisky."

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team