Sixty kilometres northeast of his tiny island home, the opportunity to make some of the southern hemisphere’s most delicious spirits (on a tinier island still) was an opportunity too good to pass up for this Tasmanian repatriate.

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Where did you grow up, and how did you end up at the bottom of the world?

I grew up in Hobart, mostly in Summerleas in the foothills of Kunanyi/Mt Wellington.

I moved away from Tassie to explore a bit more of the world, and in 2013 I had a rum bar in Fitzroy, Melbourne, called Los Barbudos. My (now-wife) Nicole (Kennedy) - who grew up in the mean streets of Melbourne - came in on a quiet night with a mutual friend. We ended up having a lock-in, and she demanded the aux cord for the speaker. I was hesitant, but the song she put on was Atomic Bomb by William Onyeabor, and I fell in love. We had moved in together very soon after, and at the time were both feeling a little engulfed by the city.

When my dad was diagnosed with MND, we decided it was an opportunity for us to move to Tassie to be closer to family and breathe a little fresh air. This was before we moved to Flinders Island, mind you – Nicole has been very sporting moving to increasingly smaller islands over the last seven years!

What drew you to the world of gin and whisky?

I’ve always worked in the booze industry since moving away from Tassie. What began as a means to pay rent turned into a career. I fell into the cocktail bartender life and found that I really loved it - the adrenaline, and the fact that you were kind of sequestered from the rest of society by the nature of your job. The community of it all was a strong thing. Even now, I will run into people I worked alongside in hospitality, or even just knew peripherally, and there is still a connection and camaraderie from a decade ago, like we were in the trenches together (including the PTSD sometimes). When our bar closed down, I needed a change from heavy hospitality but still loved the industry and knew it well.

When we moved back to Tasmania in 2017, the whisky industry was going through a big renaissance – what I didn’t even know was under my feet growing up in Hobart had blossomed to an industry that was beginning to be recognised around the world. I got a job working front-of-house with Sullivans Cove Distillery, and it grew from there.

What sets Furneaux Distillery apart from other spirits brands?

The thing that got us so excited to take the leap and move to Flinders Island to run Furneaux Distillery was the vision that our founders Damien and Howard had – to create a maritime peated whisky in Tasmania. It wasn’t really being done at the time. It’s true that Lark uses some Tasmanian peat in its production, and Belgrove has also, but the opportunity to use our inspiration from distilleries in Islay, like Kilchoman and Bruichladdich, and apply them to our own terroir was too appealing to refuse.

If you visit our distillery at the Furneaux Farm on Flinders Island, you can literally drink a whisky and look across our barley crop to the ocean while sea eagles circle overhead. It’s incredibly romantic.

*Furneaux Distillery Tasting Room (image: Adam Gibson)*

What’s special about making spirits on Flinders Island?

By nature of being a remote island in Bass Strait of only 900 people, we are always forced into self-sufficiency. You have to learn to look after yourself, which fosters a real resilience. We’re not saying we do it all alone – we’d be dead in the water without the help of people like Davo our local truckie, John our fairy godfarmer, Burkie who gives us the grapefruits for our gin and seeded our first barley crop, and so many more from our strong island community. But this self-reliance has led us to build our new distillery (which opened last year) in which we can brew, distil, mature and bottle all onsite. It’s led us to learning how to farm our own barley, so everything we brewed and distilled in the last year has been from our own grain. As a producer, that is incredibly satisfying.

What does an average work day look like on Flinders Island?

It’s so varied! We have a small team of Haydn our Brewer/Distiller and Cass our Stillhand. Nicole is our Operations Manager, and I’m the Head Distiller. One day, Haydn will be brewing our wash (raw liquid for fermentation and distillation) and running the stills, and Cass will be taking a tour or running tastings. The next day, Nicole will be making cocktails for a bar night at the cellar door, or I’ll be out at the lagoons digging peat. There’s never an average day at the distillery, and certainly never a boring one.

What are three must-dos for every visitor to Flinders Island?

Have a local produce day. Visit the distillery cellar door and the beautiful vineyard at Unavale, get a few snacks together, light a fire, listen to some music, and just chill out.
Climb a mountain. The Furneaux Island Group was once a land bridge between Wilsons Promontory and Tasmania, and what’s left of that land is a collection of granite rocks, islets and mountains rising out of the sea. From the top of Mt Strzelecki or Mt Killiecrankie, you can see from one end of Flinders Island to the other - the views are amazing.
Get in the water. If you can swim, do it; if you can dive, go find some green lip abalone or crayfish. If you can’t do either, call Azza at Latitude Charters and explore the coastline from his boat. There is no better guide on the water than Az.

Where do you (or would you most like to) go for a Tassie getaway?

We have a shack down in Nubeena near White Beach. It’s been in our family for generations and is a very special place for us. Low-fi, quiet, beachy, close to the Three Capes, and the home of my childhood memories.

We haven’t yet properly explored the west coast, so next on the list is to get over to Strahan and take the forest roads up to Stanley.

What is one of the best things you've ever eaten in Tassie?

That’s tricky – Tassie punches way above its weight with produce and options. We would put away vast quantities of black pepper fried chicken at Tom McHugos (RIP), and some of the most incredible, unbelievable things we have ever seen done with food have been served at Fico.

The fresh calamari noodles that Lilly Trewartha made when she did a residency at the Flinders Wharf are also up there, and - of course - Nicole’s Flinders Island Crayfish Bisque Risotto, which a rare few have been lucky enough to taste.

Where is Tassie's best coffee?

Sunbear, mostly for the warm vibes that go with your coffee. Or Pigeon Whole so you can get a sneaky ficelle, too.

Where is Tassie's best glass of wine or other favourite boozy beverage?

For vibes and wine selection, Sonny is a no-brainer. But for before and after, a pint of Guiness at the New Sydney is a default. You always make a new friend there, too - there’s something in the walls at the New Syd.

Where is your favourite secret spot at the bottom of the world?

Flinders Island has got to be one of Tasmania’s best kept secrets. There’s a ruggedness, freedom and wild nature to the islands - you can tell why they got a reputation as the Bermuda Triangle of Australia. Sitting at Sawyers Bay beach with a cold beer after a hard days’ work (and a quick skinny dip) is pretty special.

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Q&A: Tom Ambroz