27 Apr 2025
When a whisky ages for nearly a quarter of a century, every decision becomes legacy. This April, Sullivans Cove Distillery announces the arrival of something truly extraordinary: the 24 Year Old American Oak Apera Finish, Single Cask No HH0005—a release that stands among the rarest and most ambitious in the history of Australian single malt whisky.
This is not only one of the oldest single casks ever bottled by the award-winning Tasmanian distillery—it’s also the first and last of its kind. What makes it remarkable is not just its age, but its evolution. After maturing for 17 years in a 300L American Oak cask, the whisky was moved in 2017 into a 225L American Oak ex-Apera cask for a seven-year finishing period. The result isn’t just complexity—it’s a masterclass in balance, developed through time, vision, and the sensory instinct of the Sullivans Cove team.
The distillery’s experts have described the transformation more as blending than finishing: a convergence of bold character and delicate finesse. At 51.1% ABV, selected through blind tasting, the final liquid reveals an extraordinary palate of chocolate, spice, citrus brightness and gamey undertones, shaped by the oak into a structure that is both powerful and deeply harmonious.
This cask—HH0005—is also the first time Sullivans Cove has ever finished a whisky of this age, and the first time an American Oak ex-Apera cask has been used for such a process. It is, by nature and design, unrepeatable.
The 24 Year Old Apera Finish will be available via ballot only, opening 10:00AM AEST on Monday, May 12 exclusively at sullivanscove.com. For collectors and connoisseurs, this isn’t just a release—it’s a closing chapter in a story that will never be written again.
