Fifteen Tasmanian single malts on the shelf this week, a middle price near $169, some of the dearest whisky in the country. The value, though, lines up behind one distillery.
Tasmania makes the most admired whisky in Australia and it charges accordingly. Fifteen bottles here, a middle price of $169, running from the high nineties to a $259 cask-strength Lark at the top. On a shelf this expensive you would expect to overpay wherever you reached. You do not, quite. The Hellyers Road bottles keep landing under the whiskies the model rates nearest them, while the boutique cask-strength releases ask some of the widest premiums on the whole shelf.
Start with the bargain, because there genuinely is one. Hellyers Road Roaring Forties is $99, about 23% under its roughly $128 crowd, the widest discount on the Tasmanian shelf and the cheapest featured bottle. It takes its name from the westerly winds that batter the island's north coast, and it drinks light and creamy, banana and tropical fruit riding over a grassy, cereal base. For under a hundred dollars it is the easiest way into Tasmanian malt there is, and the model agrees it is priced well below its company.
The Tasmanian shelf tells two stories at once. One maker is giving you a single malt under its going rate. The other is charging well over.
| bottle | region | latest ticket | read | window price | CE 360° mean | premium | shelf rank | per std drink | drink rank | content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Callington Mill Enigma Whisky | Tasmania | $99.99 | observed | $89.00 | $69.48 | 21.9% | #8 of 15 | $4.53 | #2 of 15 | 0 |
| Hellyers Road 7 Year Old Peated Single Malt Whisky | Tasmania | $149.99 | observed | $149.99 | $112.13 | 25.2% | #9 of 15 | $5.88 | #5 of 15 | 1 |
| Hellyers Road Double Cask Whisky | Tasmania | $119.99 | observed | $119.99 | $96.78 | 19.3% | #6 of 15 | $4.70 | #3 of 15 | 0 |
| Hellyers Road Roaring Forties Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky | Tasmania | $98.99 | observed | $98.99 | $78.83 | 20.4% | #7 of 15 | $3.62 | #1 of 15 | 0 |
| Hellyers Road The Journeyman 8 Year Old Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky | Tasmania | $149.99 | observed | $149.99 | $110.70 | 26.2% | #10 of 15 | $5.45 | #4 of 15 | 0 |
| IronHouse Distillery Tasman Whisky - Port Cask - Tasmanian Single Malt | Tasmania | $229.99 | observed | $229.99 | $135.50 | 41.1% | #14 of 15 | $8.86 | #12 of 15 | 0 |
| LARK No.151 Fire Trail | Tasmania | $168.99 | observed | $149.00 | $129.54 | 13.1% | #1 of 15 | $7.37 | #8 of 15 | 0 |
| Lark Cask Strength Single Malt Australian Whisky | Tasmania | $258.99 | observed | $362.59 | $255.17 | 29.6% | #13 of 15 | $11.32 | #13 of 15 | 0 |
| Lark Classic Cask Single Malt Australian Whisky | Tasmania | $146.99 | observed | $260.40 | $216.01 | 17.1% | #3 of 15 | $8.67 | #11 of 15 | 0 |
| Lark Rebellion Single Malt | Tasmania | $238.99 | observed | $334.59 | $272.31 | 18.6% | #5 of 15 | $13.77 | #15 of 15 | 0 |
| Lark Symphony Malt Whisky | Tasmania | $112.99 | observed | $205.79 | $115.33 | 44.0% | #15 of 15 | $6.82 | #7 of 15 | 0 |
| Lark Tasmanian Peated Single Malt | Tasmania | $214.99 | observed | $300.99 | $245.57 | 18.4% | #4 of 15 | $11.85 | #14 of 15 | 0 |
| Lawrenny Homestead Single malt Whisky | Tasmania | $154.99 | observed | $145.00 | $125.76 | 13.3% | #2 of 15 | $6.76 | #6 of 15 | 0 |
| Overeem Port Cask Single Malt Whisky | Tasmania | $197.99 | observed | $197.99 | $142.67 | 27.9% | #12 of 15 | $8.34 | #10 of 15 | 0 |
| Overeem Sherry Cask Single Malt Whisky | Tasmania | $195.00 | observed | $195.00 | $140.95 | 27.7% | #11 of 15 | $8.21 | #9 of 15 | 0 |