Situated in the south of Tasmania is the Old Hobart Distillery, home of Overeem Whisky. And what a lovely home it is, too. Tasmania has plenty of quality barley, pure water and an ideal climate for whisky production. It was founded by Casey Overeem, who acquired a distiller’s license for Old Hobart in 2005, with production starting in 2007.

Casey got a taste for distilling in the early 1980s after experiencing it first hand with a micro-distillery in a relative’s cellar in Norway (you know, as you do). Following that, he went home and started experimenting with distilling himself. This love of the craft evolved into the Old Hobart Distillery we now know today, with a little help from a trip to Scotland.

After getting the distiller’s licence, Casey visited 15 Scottish distilleries to get a better grip of the distilling process. This even included taking pictures of lyne arms from still that have a heavier, more oily new-make, which is what he was particularly interested in. In fact, he says that theirs is somewhat similar to one at a popular Islay distillery!

The family-run distillery produces whisky on a small scale - in March 2014, Casey said they filled one barrel a week. They use 100 litre barrels to age their Overeem Whisky, which was also inspired by the trip to Scotland, with the majority of these being Sherry and Port casks that have been cut down to size. The resulting whisky has been received very well indeed, with Jim Murray awarding the cask strength Port Cask Matured Overeem Single Malt one of his coveted Liquid Gold Awards.