A fourth global title – unprecedented in the history of the awards – firmly cements Sullivans Cove’s place at the forefront of world whisky.

The multi-award-winning distillery has once again been recognised at the highest level of global whisky, awarded World’s Best Single Cask Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards for its 18 Year Old French Oak ex-White Wine (Single Cask No. TD0112).

This marks the fourth time Sullivans Cove has received a World’s Best title, following its watershed win in 2014 and subsequent awards in 2018 and 2019. It is a level of recognition no other distillery has achieved, and all the more remarkable given their scale – a small, single cask producer at the bottom of the world, continuing to set the global benchmark.

The awarded cask represents a leading edge of maturation practice. While white wine casks are increasingly explored across the category, very few distilleries have extended them to such age, and fewer still have achieved this level of balance, structure, and composure.

This success reflects not only exceptional cask selection, but the discipline required to steward and navigate such casks over nearly two decades. Managing active oak of this kind demands continuous sensory monitoring, calibrated intervention, and a deep understanding of the evolving relationship between spirit, oak, and environment.

Sullivans Cove’s production philosophy underpins this outcome: extended fermentations that create the building blocks of flavour and texture; distillation in high-reflux Charantais-style alembic stills with worm tub condensers that retain weight, structure, and spirit character; and maturation in exclusively full-size casks, enabling slower, more integrated development over time.

Each cask is assessed individually over its lifetime, with bottling decisions driven by sensory readiness rather than fixed age statements. The result is a whisky defined by clarity, structure, and quiet authority – never rushed, never replicated.

“To be recognised again at a global level speaks less to any single whisky, and more to the philosophy that underpins everything we do.” said Andy Gaunt, CEO. “Sullivans Cove has never set out to follow established pathways – we have focused on understanding our own conditions, our own materials, and building a framework that allows each cask to reach its full potential. The success of an 18 year old white wine cask is a strong example of that. It challenges traditional expectations of maturation and highlights the quality of Australian wine casks when paired with the right spirit and long-term intent. For us, this is about continuing to contribute to the evolution of global whisky – demonstrating that with patience, discipline, and clarity of purpose, new benchmarks can be set from outside traditional centres of production.”

“An eighteen year old whisky matured in French oak ex-white wine is exceptionally rare in Australia, and it is not a style that can be approached passively.” said Heather Tillott, Director of Whisky Creation. “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. Decisions are made incrementally, with a long view, allowing the whisky to develop without ever losing balance or clarity of character. To see that tension resolve so completely at this age is deeply rewarding. This whisky reflects the integrity of the cask, the strength of the spirit, and the cumulative effect of disciplined stewardship over nearly two decades. It is a result we are proud to stand behind.”