Furneaux Distillery

Furneaux is one of Australia's most remote distilleries, located on ruggedly beautiful Flinders Island in the Bass Strait. It's like something out of a Scottish tourism ad, so it's no wonder the distillery's founders were inspired to make single-malt whisky there. A relatively young brand established in '19, Furneaux has already released some impressive malts. Like many Tasmanian whiskies, they're not cheap, but given the remote nature and tiny size of the operation, their prices are perhaps more justified than others. Currently, most of the ingredients, like 100% Tasmanian barley, are imported from the larger island, but Furneax has planted, harvested and malted its own barley crop, smoked with local coastal peat, to realise the dream of keeping the entire grain-to-glass production pathway on the island. So future bottlings will be 100% Flinders Island produced. Head distiller Tom Ambroz's experience working at hallowed Tasmanian distillery Sullivans Cove has served him well, and despite being young, these whiskies are anything but rushed, showing real promise for a bright future if the brand can stick to the righteous path of patience.  -FRED SIGGINS