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The University of Adelaide’s inaugural whisky release, the Waite 100 Whisky, was awarded bronze at the 2024 Tasting Australia Spirit Awards.

Waite 100 Whisky is the first whisky distilled at the University of Adelaide’s Waite campus, released to commemorate 100 years of the Waite bequest.

“This recognition from the judges at the Tasting Australia Spirit Awards is not only a reflection of the quality of the Waite 100 Whisky but also shows the world-class distilling facilities available at the Waite campus,” says Associate Professor Paul Grbin, Head Winemaker at the University of Adelaide.

“We have been overwhelmed with the response to the Waite 100 Whisky, which is already sold out, and we have a range of other spirits in the works – including a follow-up whisky release.”

Waite 100 Whisky was created using University of Adelaide-bred Compass barley grown on a Mallala farm owned by Emeritus Professor Andy Barr.

Professor Jason Able, Head of the University of Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, says the whisky achieves several aims for the University.

“In addition to its flavour profile, noted by the Tasting Australia Spirit Awards judges, the Waite 100 Whisky showcases our vast array of research and development capability and connection with growers who adopt our varieties,” he says.

“This is unique for a university, making us one of the few institutions in Australia with the capability of seeing such a product through from start to completion with the majority of its components developed in-house.”

Waite 100 Whisky has lively notes of sweet butterscotch, orchard fruits and toasted aromas, reminiscent of walnuts or almonds, and features a smooth and silky finish.

Coopers malted the barley for the project, and the spirit was then distilled at the Waite campus and aged in barrels supplied by The Independent Stave Company, which is based in the Barossa.

Since the early 1960s, the University of Adelaide has developed and released barley varieties, with many becoming a dominant presence in Australian domestic and export markets.

Compass is accredited as a malting barley and was first bred in 2004, with more than 15 University of Adelaide staff contributing to its development in the years since and was released commercially to growers in 2015.

At the time of its release, Compass set a new benchmark for grain size, with lower screenings and superior grain plumpness.

While other newer varieties now outperform Compass, it is still well regarded by growers and the brewing industry for its high grain yield and resistance to cereal cyst nematode and foliar disease.

“Compass entered the Grains Research & Development Corporation’s National Variety Trial network in 2012 and has since been evaluated across more than 450 trial sites, constituting more than 75 different environments across the cereal growing regions of Australia,” says Professor Able.

“We have seen Compass become broadly adapted across the country in many barley growing regions, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.”

Waite 100 Whisky is sold out. All proceeds from sales were donated to the Peter Waite Centenary Fund, a research-based scholarship which supports an outstanding future leader in agriculture, food or wine science through their PhD studies.