What's new

Australian Whisky

What are the grains used for the Oz whisky? I've loved some of the wines . . . I figure it is because with the heat there it is made from raisins so it is pre-aged before it hits the bottle. . . ha . . . sorry. I bought a bottle of "fat bastard" . . . just sounded like me. I think it was available here just the one time.

I can't speak for all the distilleries in Aus, but Lark Distillery uses barley - it is made basically exactly the same way as single malt whisky in Scotland. The barley is grown locally and Tasmania even has peat!
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
I still have to try Limeburners but I came across another bottle last week and that was recommended by a small bottle shop owner. I go there to refill on Organic/preservative free wines and beer.

The suggested Whisky is made in Tasmania. It's called Sullivan's Cove. I have to admit, a fermentation in Bourbon casks and Port casks made me think, it could be great or bad...

I decided to give it a go. ~$100AUD for a 700ml bottle. 40% alc. I use my favorite B&B glass to drink it. Not bad at all. Some apple notes in there.

I'm not convinced it's my absolute favorite but it's quite nice.
 
The suggested Whisky is made in Tasmania. It's called Sullivan's Cove. I have to admit, a fermentation in Bourbon casks and Port casks made me think, it could be great or bad...

Man that's a long way away from my place, at least 20 minutes BY CAR !!! :001_smile ( For those "foreigners", Tassie isn't that big, about 2.5 hours Hobart to Launceston ( south and north biggest cities ))

It is on the way from the airport though for those flying in or out :thumbup1:
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
I finally got a bottle of Larks after all this time and I intend to review it properly when I finish it...

It's a very good product, 43% alc, great crisp apple taste. Very nice. If you add a tiny bit of water, the smoke/peat develop and it's actually very light to my surprise as I do not like the smoke flavour in Whisky/Scotch usually. If you're around and ready to buy a bottle, I would say go for it. It won't be a regular in my drinks as it's quite expensive but for special occasions, why not?!
 

Attachments

  • $SANY4868.JPG
    $SANY4868.JPG
    191.9 KB · Views: 75
  • $SANY4870.JPG
    $SANY4870.JPG
    232.5 KB · Views: 72
Wow.

Is alcohol normally that expensive in Australia?

I buy 750ml bottles of whiskey from $15 to $50 US. I normally go for stuff in the $30 range. I've had bottles in the $100 range and not believed them to be 2 or 3 times as good as the things I normally drink.

I'm really impressed with the Lark there. It sounds like a very well crafted spirit.

How much does beer cost? I buy beer in 12oz cans in 24 packs for around $13 or $16 and am curious of the prices in Australia. I normally will have a few beers and a spot of whisky when I'm drinking.

I do occasionally go out of my way to buy Yuengling which is a beer sold on the east coast in the US. It comes in pint bottles and runs around $18 for 24 bottles. If you return the bottles you get $3 back. Most beers are 12oz in the US.

Are American whiskeys and bourbons available in Australia? I get the impression that being a drinker isn't an affordable pastime in Australia?
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Wow.

Is alcohol normally that expensive in Australia?

I buy 750ml bottles of whiskey from $15 to $50 US. I normally go for stuff in the $30 range. I've had bottles in the $100 range and not believed them to be 2 or 3 times as good as the things I normally drink.

I'm really impressed with the Lark there. It sounds like a very well crafted spirit.

How much does beer cost? I buy beer in 12oz cans in 24 packs for around $13 or $16 and am curious of the prices in Australia. I normally will have a few beers and a spot of whisky when I'm drinking.

I do occasionally go out of my way to buy Yuengling which is a beer sold on the east coast in the US. It comes in pint bottles and runs around $18 for 24 bottles. If you return the bottles you get $3 back. Most beers are 12oz in the US.

Are American whiskeys and bourbons available in Australia? I get the impression that being a drinker isn't an affordable pastime in Australia?

I find that booze in general is more expensive in Oz yes... Most of the stuff is imported, that's the reason, the locally made stuff, well, it's often great stuff... I think the Australian market get hit with a lot of taxes so it doesn't help. I paid ~$160 AUD for the bottle of Larks from memory... That said, I don't always buy bottles in that range. My favourite is Canadian Club (I wonder why) and you can get it for ~$30 AUD down under. American whiskey and bourbon are available yes. I tried the whole Jack Daniels series that I could get (Regular black label no7 barrel, Gentleman Jack and Jack Daniels Single Barrel) Those vary in price from ~$30-$80 AUD...

If it can give you an idea, http://danmurphys.com.au/ Dan Murphy's is where I usually shop and they have good prices. For the beer, I make it myself as I find it too expensive from the bottle shop... I prefer saving my money for something like Larks that I won't buy often but it's a good bottle! :biggrin:
 
When i was a kid there was a brand called "Corio", i think by memory. Has this gone out of production, and if anyone here is old enough to have tried it was it any good?. just curious.
 
Reviving an old thread. Australian Whisky has come a long way sinc 2011.. Something like 38 distilleries making Whisky across the country now. Sullivan's Cove, Nant and Lark in Tassie all highly rated over the last 4 years. Starward in Melboune has just won Worlds best craft distiller at the San Fransico international spirits competition and best Australian Whisky at the IWSC. Their wine cask aged expression is great at $80. I was fortunate to try Limeburners at the distillery in Albany last year and brought home a bottle of their 43% ABV sherry cask ($140) and their WEst Australian peated ($250). Limeburners have also had success judged against world whiskies at the IWSC.. Starward, Nant and Limeburners all now have expressions available through major retail chains (DM). A new distillery in Adelaide (Tin Shed Distilling) is making iniquity single malt and are now up to their 4th release of port barrel aged.. Tasty stuff. Things can only keep getting better with more quality whiskies at reasonable prices becoming available over the next few years.
 
When i was a kid there was a brand called "Corio", i think by memory. Has this gone out of production, and if anyone here is old enough to have tried it was it any good?. just curious.

Corio stopped producing in the late 70's I believe Vaugeout. It's name is still whispered in the hallowed halls of Australian Whisky collectors, but apparently not because it was any good, just because there were very few Australian whiskys produced around that time and very few bottles of it remain. Apparently there was a brand "The Great Australian Outback Whisky" which is purported to have come from Corio.. There are two different bottlings of this, a blend and a single malt. Apparently the single malt isn't too bad. I noticed on another Facebook forum that I am on that the odd bottle or two do occasionally turn up at garage sales from time to time.
 
Luc,

Just curious how do the prices of the local Australian Whiskies compare the prices of the Single Malt Scotch from Scotland?

Australian whisk is generally more expensive than a lot of scotch whisky. This is generally a result of smaller batch production runs with more of a craft presentation (non chill filtered, ABV's of 43-46%). Some quality, cheaper whiskies are becoming available as distilleries increase the volume of production (starting to see some quality products retailing at $80-120 rather than the $140 + we have seen per bottle in the past.
 

Legion

Staff member
Spent some time at the Lark cellar door in Hobart a month or so back. Tasty stuff, but sadly I didn't have a spare kidney to sell so I could buy a bottle.

The biggest problem with Aussie whisky is the price. When I know I can buy a bottle of single malt scotch, a bottle which I know I like, for half the price, why would I spend double for a local bottle? Patriotism aside, the price of Aussie whisky is silly, especially when it doesn't have to travel very far.
 
Batch 003 Iniquity single malt from Tin Shed distillery in Adelaide. Aged 2 years in ex-port casks and finished for 3 months in ex-rum casks. Oaky, sweet treacle, strawberries, coconut cherry macaroon slice, mint. Delicious stuff. Waiting in delivery of batch 004. $image.jpg
 
Having just started to drink whisky on a more regular basis I've decided to have 1 x international and 1 x Australian bottle on the go in the cabinet. I've just finished a bottle from Starward which I enjoyed and now I'm deciding which Aussie whiskey to get next. As mentioned above the cost of local whisky is higher which is shame.
 
Having just started to drink whisky on a more regular basis I've decided to have 1 x international and 1 x Australian bottle on the go in the cabinet. I've just finished a bottle from Starward which I enjoyed and now I'm deciding which Aussie whiskey to get next. As mentioned above the cost of local whisky is higher which is shame.

Which Starward did you just finish Dougy.. Standard single malt or wine cask finish?
 
Finished the standard single malt. I'll try the wine cask but think I'd like to try something from one of the Tassie distillery's first.
Nice. I'm yet to try the standard Starward but the wine cask is a cracker.. I have a small bottle of the Lark and need to get a bottle of Nant one day. Next Australian for me i think- maybe Timboon Distillery, I looked at the Black gate 007 cask but it appears I'm too late to order one of those, Sold Out.
 
Top Bottom