After flood-induced delays, Manly Spirits welcomed drinkers to its distillery to celebrate the release of its line of single malts.
For Manly Spirits founders, Vanessa Wilton and David Whittaker, the release of Coastal Stone marked the fruition of a process that taken several years.
“The spirit was distilled and laid down in 2017, with the creation of Manly Spirits,” David said.
The evening began with the rare opportunity to sample the distillery’s new make spirit, straight off the still at around 64 per cent ABV. New make is the spirit that goes on to become whisky, prior to aging, with the bright, fruity and clean spirit setting the house-style of Manly Spirits, which has previously made its name with gins and liqueurs.
“A lot of people know us for our white spirits, our gins, but as everyone knows about whisky – you have to plant that seed a long time in advance,” Vanessa said.
“So actually, from day one, we’ve been laying down whisky – I think at least a barrel a day.”
In the period since Manly Spirits began maturing whisky, the distillery’s gamble on the spirit has paid off, with Australian whisky experiencing a period of rapid growth, reaching previously unprecedented levels of international recognition.
“The whisky market in Australia is on this huge growth,” Vanessa explained.
“Australia remains one of the biggest markets for Scottish whisky. Until 10-15 years ago, it was just Scottish whisky in Australia. Now I like to say that Australian whisky is like the new ‘little black dress.’”
“As an industry in Australia, we have really expanded, and I think the quality of Australian whisky has really improved dramatically over the last couple of years. We’re in the middle of a real commercial wave for Australian whisky.”
Vanessa was also keen to stress the role that women in whisky have to play in this expansion, as one of the leading female distillers in Australia.
“We make up half the population – there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be sharing a dram – and solving the world’s problems while we’re drinking that dram!”
Drinkers were then treated to a taste of the Coastal Stone ‘Element Series’, featuring: a Bourbon Cask, a Sherry Cask, and a Pinot Cask. Additional drams of the distillery’s Shiraz and Port Cask (cask strength) bottlings were also offered – with attendees some of the first to try these expressions in Australia.
And David explained the smaller format American and French oak casks used are all ‘first fill’, and have been shaved, toasted and re-charred, to maximise the oak’s impact on the spirit in a short maturation time. In this regard, he explained, Manly Spirits had been influenced by the Tasmanian style of single malt.
David indicated that there would be some evolution in Manly Spirits’ style of whisky, with some refill cask spirit, aged in larger barrels, on the way eventually.
“What I’ve seen in Australia is that we’re moving to bigger barrels, and that we’re moving to second fill as well. I think over time we will see Australian whisky move from these ‘oak bombs’ to this much more subtle and gentle style.”
David also hinted at some exciting whisky products to come, include the potential for some seawed-smoked single malt in the future.
“We don’t just want to follow the Scots though, right? We have to forge our space – ‘what is Aussie whisky?’” David commented.
Coastal Stone takes its name not only from Manly’s maritime location, but from the maturation the whisky has enjoyed by the sea, with Vanessa revealing that barrels were stowed away in spots along the NSW coast.
The evening concluded with a tour of Manly Spirits’ impressive distilling facilities (the site now also includes a ‘gin school’ with miniature stills, where customers can learn how to make their own gin) and cocktails, including a Coastal Stone ‘Sherry Baby’ Boulevardier – see the recipe here.
Manly Spirits has already tasted awards success with this range, picking up a bronze medal at the International Wine and Spirits competition. The design of the bottles, which is radically different from Manly Spirits’ range of gins, has also attracted plaudits, winning three Gold Medals for ‘Best Bottle Design’ in the ‘New Launch’ category of the 2022 World Whisky Awards.
The bottles are inspired by the ‘weathered sandstone cliffs’ of the NSW Coastline. The stopper itself even features a disc of unique Sydney sandstone.
“We didn’t think it was possible to be able to use real Sydney sandstone on the stopper – in fact, we were told it wasn’t possible,” Vanessa said.
“But we’ve never shied away from a challenge here at Manly Spirits. Those finer details of the bottle design, stopper, label – it’s all important to us. So much time and thought goes into every aspect of creating the whisky, so it’s no different when it comes to designing the vessel it will be housed in.”
But as David says, “the first thing is to make really good whisky.”
“There’s an opportunity for whisky to be the contemporary spirit of choice – and that’s where I hope our Coastal Stone will fit into the piece,” Vanessa concluded.
Coastal Stone is available directly from the distillery and at selected retailers.
