With a lot of help from some experienced Flinders Island farmers, we are starting to realise our dream of creating a true paddock-to-bottle whisky. This is no mean feat, but we feel like it is important, especially considering our remote location to work towards total self-sufficiency.
Tasmania has some of the best quality barley in the world. We have growers and maltsters who work very hard to supply the brewing, distilling and food industries with quality malt. But Flinders Island is an 8 hour journey through Bass Strait for the freight barge, and the weather can sometimes be too wild to sail in. We often get delays, and the cost of freight can make distilling on the island an expensive exercise. But the main motivator for this project is our passion for terroir, to create a product that truly speaks of its place. We're excited to see the effect that the high humidity, sandy, clay soils and the western sea spray has on our crop, and the effect that this new island-grown malt will have on our spirit.
BARLEY FARM PROGRESS
It was a touch late in the year for sowing, but the coastal plot we have worked for farming is still quite damp but not sodden, so a spring sown variety such as Planet should perform well. We had a good, clear day for it. Aaron Burke from Happy Valley farm on Flinders Island was kind enough to bring his seeder out for the day to help us get the crop started.
Can you spot it above? That seed in the ground represents a lot of hope for us, and with kind weather and good management, we should be able to produce a solid crop of Flinders Island grown malt barley. If not, we've had a lot of fun doing it, and will have our ducks in a row for the next season! Planet barley is farmed around the world and has a cereal-forward taste complemented with a mild nuttiness. It performs well in the brewery, so while we may experiment with more unique varieties in the future, this should be a good foundational crop.
We're keeping a keen eye on the forecast, with everyone talking about a "Super El Nino", it'll likely be touch and go, but there's been a couple of good rains on the crop already, and we'll stay relentlessly positive. We are just picturing sitting out on the patio of our newly built cellar door, glass of whisky in one hand, gin cocktail in the other, watching the green fade to gold as the crop matures, and looking forward to the next step, harvesting and malting...
The dogs didn't seem too bothered. Their owner John has been helping us work the field in preparation for seeding. John and Jennie are our neighbours and very experienced farmers in Emita, their help and wisdom has been priceless. The rooster on the other hand, is loving our new-found passion for barley farming. Spilt seed all around the farm means a feast!
