The world finally takes notice of Australian produced spirits

AUSSIES have been known to have a carefree spirit. But the world is taking notice of the new Australian spirit, a wave of innovative and fresh locally produced alcohol.

Here’s cheers to Aussie spirits

MATESHIP and other proud national traits aside, finally the world is sitting up and taking notice of a different kind of ‘Aussie spirit’ – locally produced booze.

We’re packing gin with heady native botanicals, and there’s a booming whisky scene in Tasmania that has the Scots clenching their kilts – Sullivans Cove was recently awarded Craft Distiller of the Year and its single malt proclaimed the best in Oz at the World Whiskies Awards. But the drinks don’t stop flowing there. We’re also making boutique vodka, while hip Sydney-Melbourne bar Eau-de-Vie is now bottling small-batch cocktails to take home.

Patrick Maguire, owner of Sullivans Cove was awarded Craft Distiller of the Year.

Small batch, boutique and damn good, Australian spirits are doing more than lifting ours. Four Pillars Gin, made using local ingredients in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, is already being picked up in Asia, and Stuart Gregor – who co-owns the company with Cameron Mackenzie and Matt Jones – says he hopes to move into the United States soon. But it’s the Australian produce that appeals to us and what, Gregor argues, makes the gin so good. “Bless them, the world and Tourism Australia, who seem to have woken up to the fact that Australia is an amazing place for food and drink,” he says.

Four Pillars is made in a German copper still – the only one of its kind in Australia – using 12 botanicals, juniper berries, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds, lemon myrtle, Tasmanian pepperberry leaf, cinnamon, star anise, lavender, angelica and “four kilos of fresh, whole oranges in every batch”, which add an aromatic note to the drink. Gregor says native botanicals such as lemon myrtle and pepperberry give Australia a unique flavour profile that other countries don’t necessarily have access to. Case in point: finger limes from Byron Bay, on the far-north coast of NSW.

“As far as we know, no one else in the world has access to these types of things. We’re lucky to have them, so let’s make something amazing out of it,” he says.

The Melbourne Gin Company’s Dry Gin uses macadamia, sandalwood and orris root, while The West Wind’s The Cutlass, from Western Australia’s Margaret River, takes in bush tomato, coriander seed and toasted wattleseed in addition to classic juniper.

“It’s a bit of an odd thing to have gin from Australia,” admits Gregor.

But the gin’s distinctness is what makes it special, he says:

“It has to be different and more awesome to make a bit of noise. It’s easier for others to buy what they know, but our sales locally are phenomenal.”

The Melbourne Gin Company’s dry gin.

Along with Sullivan Cove’s international whisky accolades, other local distillers are hanging up medals in the pool room, too. Launched this year, the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards handed golds to Castle Glen’s Pecan and Hazelnut Liqueur (Queensland), Zeus Oyzo (Victoria), Black Bottle XO Brandy (South Australia) and Hoochery Distillery’s Spike’s Reserve Rum (WA), as well as The West Winds gin. The award-winning Lark Distillery, in Tasmania, has expanded into small-batch vodka called Alaskan Rock, which produced 2800 bottles in batch one. And Four Pillars took out a double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, just six months after Gregor and his team started making gin.

“We were just hoping we’d get some kind of feedback that what we were making resembled gin,” says Gregor of the victory. He points again to the quality of the product, the local botanicals and the determination of Australians to “make it awesome”. “The fact that we almost won the whole damn thing says maybe we’re doing something right.”

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Originally published as The world finally takes notice of Australian produced spirits