Waubs Harbour is located in the small seaside town of Bicheno on Tasmania’s east coast. I took this tour during my last trip around Tasmania in March 2026. It kicked off in their production building and bond store where the tour guide Joseph was waiting for us. After a quick round of introductions we headed into the building for the history of Waubs Harbour, which was built inside an old oyster hatchery.
It’s a family run distillery and was founded by husband and wife Tim and Bec Polmear along with Tim’s brother Rob Polmear (who was ex-Lark Distillery Head of Production and Overeem Whisky Head Distiller). They took ownership of the site in 2018, with the first spirit flowing from the stills in mid-2019.
After a history lesson on the distillery we were taken into the next room, which contained a 2500L stainless steel mash tun. This obviously means they produce their own wort and subsequent wash, which is good to see. Some Australian distilleries (especially when starting up) have been known not to produce their own wash and get breweries to do it for them.
Next it was off to where the magic happens – the still room, with the fermentation tanks sitting opposite. It’s no surprise to see a wash and spirit still made by Peter Bailly, who has manufactured stills for a lot of Australian distilleries through Knapp Lewer Contracting, located in Derwent Park, Hobart. Something unique to Waubs Harbour is that they cool their equipment with seawater drawn straight from the ocean. Titanium heat exchangers transfer heat into the naturally cold water as it’s pumped up – a setup left behind by the former oyster hatchery that the team has brought back into service.
The other side of the still room acts as the bond store. The building is quite open and spacious, and combined with being right on the ocean’s doorstep, it allows the salty maritime air to influence the cask maturation. It really is a beautiful building and a fantastic setup. Joseph also explained that this setup combined with the location allows the temperature to stabilise well. Looking around I saw a combination of 100L, 200L and even some 300L casks – a good mix of maturation happening in here.
While enjoying this lovely view we were lucky enough to be able to taste some of the new make. I didn’t take too many in-depth notes on this, but you can tell this is good spirit. Something I wasn’t expecting, and rare on tours, was also trying some wash that was fermenting.
Once we were finished here it was off to try some of the whisky, but first a quick stop past their smoker. They’ve been smoking barley using a few different setups over the years, and this new one, commissioned last year, looked right at home. It wasn’t in operation at the time, but I look forward to trying some peated whisky smoked with this setup.
Now to try some whisky! We were taken through a tasting of all 3 core releases, starting with the Waubs Original, then Port Storm and finishing with the Founder’s Reserve. I was also lucky enough to be able to try a limited release they had open – Maritime Sherry. This was the clear winner for mine, and thankfully they still had some available. You can read my review of this release here.
This was an amazing tour. I’ve been on countless ones both here in Australia and abroad, and I can easily say this was up there with the best of them. Joseph has great knowledge and you could tell he was passionate about Waubs Harbour and whisky in general. I can always spot when a guide is just reading the script – you sometimes wonder if they even drink whisky – and this certainly wasn’t the case. The whole experience covered every aspect of the operation, and the bonus was the setting – just stunning! They run Monday to Saturday and are available to book on their website for $70 per person, it’s great value.