Hellyers Road Distillery

Hellyers Road is one of Australia’s longest-running and most fascinating distilleries. Along with Lark, Sullivans Cove and Overeem, it is one of the founding 4 producers of Tasmania’s modern whisky industry, and the only one located in the north of the state, just outside of Burnie. Unlike the other 3 founders, Hellyers Road was the first and, for many years, the only Australian whisky distillery capable of producing spirit on a commercial scale. As such, it's been one of the most affordable and easy to find Australian whiskies on the market since its founding nearly 30 years ago in '97 by a group of dairy farmers wanting to diversify their business. The iconic label featuring an unmistakably Australian painting of a man and his dog standing on a country road was the first Australian whisky many people saw, easily spotted at the Duty-Free shops in Australian airports, and the first local whisky to lean into its Australianness as far as branding is concerned. Unlike most contemporaries, Hellyers Road was one of the only producers to focus almost exclusively on full-sized casks from the early days, allowing for longer, gentler maturation and less aggressive oak influence. Its peated whiskies have always been among its best, as that big, rustic spirit character lends itself perfectly to a bit of smokiness. Some much needed changes on the production side several years ago cleaned up the spirit remarkably and, after a good while in the cask, Hellyers Road is now releasing this improved product onto the market, as well as being one of the only distilleries in Australia consistently bottling whiskies well over 10 (and sometimes over 20) years old. More recent management changes have also led to vastly improved branding and a professionalised approach to blending, cask selection and marketing. The new Hellyers Road range is a different beast and, with still some of the most affordable prices on the Australian whisky market, if you’ve dismissed this brand in the past, it’s time to look again. -FRED SIGGINS