Inaugural Tasmanian Whisky Week (22 – 31 July 2016)

By Editor

Posted on 20 July 2016

The inaugural Tasmanian Whisky Week kicks off tomorrow!

The week takes place from Friday July 22 to Sunday July 31, 2016, with industry events being held across 9 days in Tasmanian distilleries, bars, barns, stables, restaurants and hotels. Tasmanian distilleries are opening their doors to host behind-the-scenes public tours to meet the distillers in person, provide access to unreleased whiskies, and offer dining opportunities to showcase their award winning products.

Tas Whisky Week has been coordinated by the Tas Whisky Producers Association (TWPA), coordinated by Brett Steel (Drink Tasmania) and Jane Overeem (Overeem Distillery Brand Ambassador). The idea was born when the international exhibition ‘Whisky Live’ was confirmed to be held in Hobart for the very first time. “As there will be many interstate visitors travelling to Hobart for Whisky Live, we wanted to ensure there were additional whisky events and tours available for travelers when they are here. The entire Association jumped on-board with the idea and are each hosting some fantastic events during the week” says coordinator Jane Overeem.

Whisky Live is the international celebration of whisky, bringing all the whiskies of the world together under one roof. Over 40 exhibitors from major world whisky brands will be exhibiting at the Hotel Grand Chancellor on 30 July 2016. Tasmanian Distilleries are going to represent a decent number of these exhibitors – making it very attractive and unique for interstate travellers. “It’s not very often you get all the Tasmanian Distillery founders and distillers together in one room, it’s very exciting” says Jane.

There are now 20 registered Distilleries in Tasmania, which is just one of the reasons why Tasmania is becoming recognised as ‘the whisky island of Australia’. Tasmanian whiskies have taken the world by storm in recent years, taking out numerous global awards, including four local distilleries winning Liquid Gold status in Jim Murray’s infamous Whisky Bible. In fact, Tasmanian distillers have been so successful, not only do they now export whisky to Scotland, but they have also shown their Scottish counterparts how to establish their own boutique distilleries.