A Brief Whisky History & Our Brand New Series MMXXI
The recent growth of distilleries in Australia is phenomenal!
When I looked through the 2007 Malt Whisky Yearbook just 5 distilleries were listed in the whole of Australia and New Zealand (just the one in NZ) In the 2020 edition this had grown to 54! (51 in Australia, and 3 from NZ)
But what about the history of Australian Whisky - how did we get here, as surely whisky was being made long before its recent history?
The first fleet arrived in Australia in 1788 - distilling was already well established in Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas as we’ve discussed in previous episodes of Uncorked Whisky Sessions, so Australia’s distilling history must have followed fairly shortly afterwards, and certainly by the 1790s with the arrival of the first free settlers.
Actually, the first legal whisky can be traced back to 1793 according to a Whisky Magazine article from 2017.
The 1820s saw the colony’s first distillation regulations - around the same time as our own 1823 Excise act - and the slow birth of an Aussie Whisky Industry. In Tasmania half a dozen distilleries existed briefly - making whisky, rum, and liqueurs, but I have conflicting reports of uneconomical and unpalatable products causing their demise. In 1839 the Distillation Prohibition Act banned colonial distillation altogether, and it was to be another 153 years before anyone was granted a distilling licence on the island of Tasmania.
Meanwhile on the mainland? New South Wales started a number of long running distilleries in Sydney
In 1888, the Joshua Brothers built one of the world’s largest distilleries at Port Melbourne, The Federal Distillery - capable of distilling 9 MLPA of whisky, gin, and brandy. It had the world’s largest whisky mash tun. From the 1890s to the 1930s Melbourne was one of the world’s greatest distilling cities!
Australia was the UK’s largest export market for whisky and gin. Protectionism in the 1920s raised higher import tariffs, forcing UK distilling powerhouses DCL and Gilbey into Australia to compete. They both built large distilleries around Melbourne. DCL modelled their ‘one stop’ Corio Distillery on their Glenglossie and Cameronbridge distilleries.
During the 1930s, it replaced Federal to become the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, adding Coffey stills to make blended whisky. By the 1920s, Australia became the world's fourth largest producer - you can chalk this down to Prohibition in the US which destroyed their rich distilling history.
Australia’s Whisky Industry reached its peak in the 1950s enjoying a 70% share of the total whisky category. However, controlled by foreign interests, they gradually devalued their local whiskies and brought in their higher priced Scotch whiskies. By the early 80s the Australian whisky industry shrivelled and died. While Aussie whisky disappeared their rum and gin production survived.
Before the 1990s whisky distilleries had to distil large volumes to warrant the constant surveillance by customs and excise to ensure that tax revenue was collected. The Government regulations were changing though, relaxing their monitoring procedures and permitting the licensing of smaller stills opened the doors to a new wave of craft distilleries.
The birth (rebirth?) of the modern Australian whisky industry is pretty much credited to one man - Bill Lark. In 1992 Lark fired up his small still at the Lark Distillery in Hobart, Tasmania, making him the first person to hold a distilling license on the island for 153 years. No mean feat, since in order to do so, he first successfully lobbied the Minister of Agriculture to change the 1901 Licensing Act requirement that stills had to be a minimum of 2700 litres. Look for the lark on our new labels to see where his influence can be seen in our releases.
This change in law presumably paved the way for the plethora of small craft distilleries currently springing up all over Australia. The boom has given rise to a whole new industry with local engineering companies specialising in still design and manufacturing.
At that time of the 2017 Whisky Magazine it was reported that 98% of the grain fermented is grown and malted in Australia - the balance from Europe and US
In Australia the minimum age for whisky in wood is 2 years.
Today ‘The Whisky List’ states that Australia has 294 distilleries in operation; producing whisky, gin, vodka, rum and other spirits.
Boutique-y Whisky’s Australia Series 2021 releases
Why did we decide to dedicate a whole series to just one country? We’ve bottled an Australian whisky previously, two batches from the Overeem Distillery back in 2015/16, so we know just how good it can be!
Whisky writer Dominic Roskrow introduced me to Australian whisky many years ago, and he’s been banging their drums ever since. The key problem was most Australian whisky never left their shores as production volumes are quite small by comparison. Secondly their closest markets are South East Asia and not Europe.
We thought it would be a cracking idea to bring a series of Australian whiskies, from distilleries you will have heard of, alongside some that you’ve probably not, and sent our cask buyer Felix Dear on a mission to seek out some gems for us.
This release consists of seven single malts and one rye whisky. Eight brand new labels from the ever talented Emily Chappell telling stories from the distillery and distillers themselves. All of these releases, except Starward, come from small family distilleries with annual production capacities ranging from just 2,000 to 40,000 litres. Only Starward with it’s recent injection of cash from Diageo’s investment arm ‘Distill Ventures’ has a production capacity similar to that of some of the smaller Scotch whisky distilleries at around 2 mlpa
Black Gate 3 Year Old Single Malt 46% abv 231 Bottles rrp £109.95
Founded in 2012 by Brian Hollingworth in NSW. He’s one of Bill Lark’s students.
A small Husband & Wife team. Just 3000 litres of whisky made each year!
This is a rich, wine driven Australian whisky. N: Old Cognac and liquorice toffee. P: Burnt buttered toast and toffee apple
Tin Shed 3 Year Old Single Malt 48% abv 443 Bottles rrp £99.95
An Australian craft distillery with a cult following.
An urban Adelaide distillery founded on 2013, but founder Ian Schmidtt has has distilling history from South Coast Distillers that was founded in 2004
A fusion of ex-Port and Pinot Gris wine cask maturation. N. Dark and menacing with black cherry and dark chocolate. P: Rich chocolate and sour plums finishing peppery.
Fleurieu 3 Year Old Single Malt 49.5% abv 236 Bottles rrp £99.95
Another South Australia Distillery. It started life as a local craft brewery, but started distilling in 2014. It became a fully fledged distillery in 2016
A husband and wife team who have modelled their copper pot stills on those of Caol Ila, obviously much smaller though...
This is from an ex-Sherry cask and is very chocolate-y! N:Rich with toasted granary bread and drinking chocolate powder P: Milk chocolate with fresh cherries and a hint of mint. That minty milk chocolate lingers
Belgrove 4 Year Old Single Rye 49.8% abv 309 Bottles rrp £139.95
A true farm to glass distillery, and a one-man-band Peter Bignell. A Tasmanina farmer turned distiller
The distillery came to be in 2008 after harvesting an unexpectedly large crop of rye. The still has been built from reclaimed copper from fallen power lines, and it’s direct-fired using cooking oil from a local roadhouse. The grain is malted in a reclaimed tumble dryer, and milled it in an old meat mincer.
N: You could be forgiven for thinking this was a tequila/mezcal. Once you’ve got over that Agave note there’s fresh grasses and sandy earth. P: That mezcal earthiness continues on the palate too. Sweet and peppery. C: I bloody love this oddity!
Killara 2 Year Old Single Malt 49% abv 130 Bottles rrp £169.95
The highly anticipated new Tasmanian distillery from Kristy Booth-Lark, daughter of Bill Lark, This was distilled before the distillery building even existed!
Kristy was previously Head Distiller, and General Manager at Lark, creating many of their most lauded expressions.
She’s a ‘one woman band’, and a champion of women in distilling, having founded the Australian Women in Distilling Association.
This 2 Year Old has matured in an ex-port cask. N: Reminds me of a Panettone cake dough with lots of sultanas P: Sweet and fruity, and so very well balanced. Finishing with white chocolate.
Riverbourne 3 Year Old Single Malt 50% abv 109 Bottles rrp £99.95
Another New South Wales distillery that started producing whisky rum and vodka in February 2016. Founded by Martin Pye, a 3rd generation pharmacist, Martin to launch his own distillery after a trip to Tasmania
All of his whisky releases to date have Jason Bourne connection being named; Identity, Supremacy, Ultimation and Enigma!
Matured for 3 years in Re-Charred American & French Oak wood; N: There's a herbal note to this with hints of rosemary and raspberry leaves. P: Dried fruits /fruit tea with raspberry and pomegranate, herbal finish too.
Starward 3 Year Old Single Malt 56% abv 424 Bottles rrp £69.95
Starward is Australia's largest distillery, and with the recent expansion puts it around the size of Scotland’s Oban, Tobermory, and Glen Scotia
Founded in 2013 in urban Melbourne, Starward set out to create a consistent and approachable Australian whisky, designed to be cracked open and enjoyed with friends. Their bottlings are now available across the world, and they have fast become of the best known Australian whiskies.
This 3 Year Old Starward has matured in a re-charred ex-Australian Red Wine cask that gives lots of fruity notes: We’ve bottled it at ‘cask strength’ so a drop of water opens this up. N: Cherry syrup gives way to softer red fruits P: Sweet and fruity, with a spicy finish.
Bakery Hill 5 Year Old Single Malt 50% abv 390 Bottles rrp £138.95
Founded in 1999, and run by ex-High School chemistry teacher David and his son Andrew. Family run, small batch, with a focus on quality over quantity.
Highland peated malt from Scotland, and maturation in American Oak ex Bourbon barrels,
If I’d tasted this in a blind tasting I would have guessed a Ledaig, it has that herbal leathery peated Tobermory vibe to it. P: Sweet Tobacco leaf earthiness and layers of complex peat. C: Tastes much older than just five years of age.
Let’s not forget the Scotch!
Alongside our Australia Series there’s also a KICK ASS collection of seven Scotch whiskies accompanying this outturn:
Single Grains
Strathclyde Batch 4, 31 Year Old - A cracking single grain at a very attractive price rrp £69.95
Invergordon Batch 21, 50 Year Old - Our oldest Invergordon to date, and stunning. rrp £349.95
Islay
Briuchladdich 15 Batch 15, 11 Year Old - This has been my favourite new style Laddie to date! This is superb honest whisky rrp £74.95
Bowmore Batch 20, 18 Year Old - An 18 Year Old Bowmore, untainted by E150 - it’s everything an 18 Year Old Bowmore should be rrp £159.95
Highland
Clynelish Batch 10, 23 Year Old - OMG! - OMG! Everything I love about a waxy Clynelish. rrp £159.95
Highland #1 Batch 1, 42 Year Old - A secret Highland single malt that we can’t name because Phoebe wanted to be on a label rrp £399.95
Speyside
Blended Malt #1 Batch 7, 25 Year Old - Another superb teaspooned Speyside Malt from that family owned distillery in Dufftown that still malts a percentage of it’s requirements on site rrp £125.95
Plenty to tempt you here eh? Yeah, you and me both!
Slàinte!
Boutique-y Dave x
These latest releases will be available from fine retailers from April 23rd 2021.
Off-trade/on-trade enquiries should be directed to our UK distributor; Maverick Drinks.
You can listen to Dave on Drinks Adventures, too!
Batch 20: Adventures Down Under
Boutique-y Dave and Dr Whisky catch up with James Atkinson on our latest episode of Uncorked Whisky Sessions