W
hentheCorowaDistillingCoreleased
theirinauguralsmallbatchofwhiskey
inAugustlastyear,all 320 bottlessold
outinjust 24 hours.Thisis notan
uncommonstory:suchis thefeverishenthusiasm
forcraftwhiskey inAustraliaatthemoment– and
sogoodis thequalityofmanyofthenewwhiskies
emergingfromsmalldistilleriesacrossthecountry- thatsupplysimplycannotkeepupwithdemand.
Corowaco-founderDeanDruce
doesn’tseethatdemandfallingoffany
timesoon.Infact,he’sbankingon
it continuingtogrow.Thedistillery
onlyfilleditsfirstbarrelwithraw
newspiritasrecentlyasearly2016,
butis nowfillingupto 200 barrels
a year,andhasthecapacitytomake
10 timesasmuch.
“Atthemoment,we’reonly
bottlingandreleasingsingle
barrelsofwhiskey at a time,”says
Druce.“Butevenat $180a bottle,
sellingsingle-caskwhiskiesis not
a sustainablebusinessmodel.We’re
awarethatwhensomeonebuysyourwhiskey today
andtheninthreemonths’timefindsit’ssoldout,
there’sa dangeryou’lllosethemtoanotherbrand.
So,inAugust,we’relookingtoreleasea larger-volume,
single-malt$95whiskey, andanevenmoreaffordable
blendedwhiskey downthetrack.”
Corowais a goodillustrationofwherewhiskey
is at inthiscountryin2019:afterstartingsmalland
limitedandexpensive,cateringmostlytothehardcore
collectors and whiskey tragics, the burgeoning craft
Theappetiteforlocalwhiskeyisgrowingfast,withlargerbatches
set to complement a spirited craft culture, writesMAX ALLEN.
industryis nowenteringa new,morecommercial
phaseoflarger-volumeproduction,aimedmoreat
everydaydrinkers,soldat moreaccessibleprices.In
manyways,thisis a caseofhistoryrepeating:formuch
ofthe20thcentury,Australiaboasteda substantial- albeitnowalmostforgotten– localwhiskey industry.
CorowaDistillingCois housedina four-storey
former1920sflourmilllocatedjusta fewhundred
metresfromtheMurrayRiverinsouthernNSW.The
impressivelyindustrialbuildingrecallsthehugeCorio
distillery, builtinGeelong’snorthernsuburbsinthe
1920s,whichinitsheydayproduced
twomillionlitresofwhiskey a year
andwasthelargestdistilleryin
thesouthernhemisphere.
Coriostoppedmakingwhiskey
inthe1980s,butit’spossibleto
geta feelofwhatthatgrandold
buildingmust havefeltlikewhen
it wasstilloperatingbyvisiting
StarwarddistilleryinPort
Melbourne,whereproduction
continuesvirtuallyroundthe
clocktokeepupwithdemand.
Lastyear,Starwardreleaseda verygood$65
whiskey calledTwo-Fold,a blendof(moreexpensive)
maltand(lessexpensive)grainspiritsdesignedto
competewithbig-nameScotchandBourbonbrands
onthebottleshopshelf.StarwardfounderDavid
Vitalesaysthatsalesexceededexpectationsand,as
a result,an“alreadyambitious”productionupgrade
tothedistilleryplannedforlaterthisyearhasbeen
expandedby 20 percent.AndVitale is also launching
Two-Fold in the US this month.
Fever pitch
Suchisthefeverish
enthusiasmforcraft
whiskeyinAustralia,
andso goodisthe
quality,that supply
simplycannotkeep
up with demand.Opposite:Archie
RoseDistilling
CoChocolate
RyeMalt
Whisky(from
left),Starward
Two-FoldDouble
GrainAustralian
Whiskyand
AdelaideHills
DistilleryNative
Grain Whiskey.38 GOURMET TRAVELLER