Australian Whisky - Get Into It!

Whisk(e)y bars can be an intimidating proposition when you enter. Walls and shelves lined with bottles from distilleries you have never heard of, some from places you have never heard of, accessed by a system of ladders and rails with bartenders scaling them like ants. Thursday is upon us, the weekend approaches, so lets make decision making on some top Australian drams a little easier.

Despite the words of the great poet L. Kilmister, you do not need to “rock out with your cock out” to impress your friends, lady or otherwise when faced with a whisky bar choice with friends. Here’s a few Australian whiskies that are bound to impress, will help support small craft distilleries, and ensure you keep your pants on!

I’m going to stay away from some of the better known tipples as some are so well known (Lark) they have become synonymous with Australian whisky already, available in all good bars (Starward and Archie Rose) as they are stalwarts of Australian distilling, or so expensive (Sullivan’s Cove) that only Alan Joyce or Gina Rinehart can afford them!

This list is by no means exhaustive, and once you have formed a relationship with your bartender with a couple from this list, I’m sure they will be more than happy to supply their favourite recommendations. There really is nothing better than sitting at a bar and being educated by a knowledgeable bartender about their favourite drops. Just remember, there’s no such thing as a bad drink, only drinks you would go back to and drinks you would never have again. It’s all in the experience.

Backwoods Distilling Co. (www.backwoodsdistilling.com.au)

Full disclosure. I’m a big fan! Big enough to be a Founding member when Bree and Leigh Attwood put out a crowd funding call in 2017 to get this distillery up and running.

It’s located in Yackandandah, a small country town in the High Country of Victoria, and they produce some outstanding whisky. Backwoods use 100% Australian ingredients and age in a variety of Australian casks to produce both single malt and rye whisky. Those casks produce a variety of Australian flavours including casks that are ex red wine, apera, and chardonnay for example. There’s occasionally some gentle smokiness in some releases that has a distinct Australian bush aroma about it. While mainly producing single malt Backwoods also make some excellent rye whisky, a grain that is notoriously hard to work with, producing a much spicier finish than the single malt.

Many of the Single Malts are particularly easy drinking and a great introduction if you are new to Australian whisky. If you are more adventurous from the get go dive straight into the Rye!

Waubs Harbour Distillery (www.waubsharbourwhisky.com)

Located on the east coast of Tasmania in the town of Bicheno this distillery is a new kid on the block and producing excellent whisky literally located right next to the sea. There’s a distinct saltiness to these whiskies for those familiar with Scottish whisky distilled close to the sea this will be recognisable. The head distiller was previously employed at Lark and Overeem, and that is a hell of a start for making good whisky!

These whiskies at present are, 1. hard to come by and 2. not for the faint of heart. Some are bottled at cask strength, think 60% plus ABV, although the originally named ‘Original’ is at a more beginner friendly 43%. All are characterised by that maritime flavour as all the whisky is matured in casks (ex bourbon, tawny for example) open to the ocean in their warehouses.

As a tip, make sure you try the whisky that is both distilled and matured at the Waubs Distillery. Early releases used whisky distilled elsewhere in Tassie but matured at Waubs.

Fleurieu Distillery (www.fleurieudistillery.com.au)

In the capable hands of Gareth and Angela Andrews, Fleurieu Distillery, located fittingly on the Fleurieu Peninsula in Goolwa, South Australia, have been producing quality, award winning whisky for many years. They also have, in my opinion, the best logo of any distillery, anywhere in the world! Click the link, it’s a cracker.

Big, flavoursome Australian whisky, and like Waubs, has a distinct maritime flavour across many of the drops. The whiskies vary in ABV from around 48% to an eye popping 59%, using a variety of casks such as Apera and Pedro Ximenez. There’s a few with a little peated spirit in there for those getting a little more adventurous.

Highwayman (www.highwayman-whisky.com)

There is a great story behind this Byron Bay distillery and its worth clicking the link to read the back story of head distiller, and heavy metal fan, Dan Woolley.

Highwayman started by maturing whisky sourced from around Australia in casks in Byron Bay. Distilling his own, small, probably micro, batch whisky commenced in 2018 and it’s new to market from 2020 onwards so another new player really. These whiskies sell out very, very quickly. First, due to the quality of the product, and second the small batch nature of production. But selling out quickly in Australia, especially for a comparatively new distiller means the whisky drinkers of Australia, that is those with better palates than you and me, see something special about Highwayman.

These really are for the more adventurous Australian whisky drinker. Bottled at cask strength, so think 55%. They are also, generally, heavily peated in the Scottish style, so expect lots of smoke, along with saltiness, ocean, and the affects of the various casks. Cask wise think, apera, tawny, red wine, Pedro Ximenez, Oloroso, pretty much you name it Dan will use it! Depending on the cask you will get black berry, stewed fruits, stone fruit, orange, coffee, caramel, and maple syrup flavours. There is a lot going on.

These whiskies do tend to slap you about the face, so be warned! Tip, don’t drink your heavily peated single malt whiskies first. It will tend to strip your palate for the more delicate single malts.

Wash Up

This is by no means an exhaustive list and I’ll keep it brief given the nature of the blog and the ability of a quick read to whet your appetite. Other Australian distillers worth seeking on your next bar visit include: Belgrove (Tasmania), Overeem (Tasmania), Morris (Victoria), Bakery Hill (Victoria), and, for the more adventurous, anything you can get your hands on from Heartwood (Tasmania) or Tasmanian Independent Bottlers (ah, yeah, located in Tasmania).

Don’t be afraid to start with your whisky straight and add a bit of water as you taste. Some of the specialty whisky bars will give you a small jug or even a dropper to help with this. The water does a couple of things. It opens the whisky up and releases additional flavours sometimes not apparent when straight and, obviously, it lowers the ABV a little and so can make some of those cask strength monsters a little more accessible for the new whisky aficionado.

Some of these can be hard to find in bars, and small bars and speciality bars are your best bet. Ask your bartender what Australian whisky they have. You will be surprised how well it stacks up against the more famous Scottish and Irish counterparts.

What Australian whiskies are your favourite? What bars did you find them at? Let me know in the comments. If you are after some recommended locations to get you started just ask below.

Slainte!