Australian whisky has had a patchy history. In the colony’s early years, distilling spirits was strictly forbidden. In 1807, Governor King issued a proclamation banning the use of grain for distilling purposes:

Whereas notwithstanding the repeated Orders, and the Conviction of several Persons employed in distilling a pernicious Spirit, and the present Exigence of the Settlements for want of Grain, yet it has appeared before a Bench of Magistrates, that a quantity of Maise, Wheat, and other Grain has been malted for the purpose of Distilling ; I do hereby strictly forbid any Person or Persons whatever using any Grain for so destructive a Purpose…

In 1820, Governor Macquarie lifted the ban on distilling and, in 1822, the first legal distillery was opened at The Cascades, near Hobart Town.  James Towers & Co. offered “a capital Spirit, which will be supplied at a reasonable rate.” Many other distilleries soon opened in Tasmania but, in 1839, the Governor of Tasmania, John Franklin, banned the production of spirits in that colony. This was at the behest of his wife, who reputedly said, “I would prefer barley be fed to pigs than it be used to turn men into swine.” Tasmania was not to produce whisky again for more than 150 years.

Meanwhile, various companies on the mainland turned their hand to producing whisky. Among them was the Warrenheip Distillery near Ballarat, established in 1863 after the Victorian Distillation Act, 1862 banned small-scale distilling and restricted distilling to large operators. Further significant Australian whisky producers in Victoria included the Federal Distiller in Melbourne (1888) and the Corio Distiller in Geelong (1928).

Corio, owned by a Scottish company, became the largest producer of Australian whisky. Their Corio 5 Star brand became a favourite among local whiskies, although it had a reputation as being “as rough as guts” and was popular largely because of its was more affordable than imported whisky. However, as the Government excise on local spirits increased, Australian whisky lost much of its price advantage and local distilleries closed. No whisky  (or, at least, no legal whisky) was made in Australia between 1980 and 1990.

The resurgence began where Australian whisky started – in Tasmania. In 1990, the law was changed to allow small-scale “craft” distilling and, in 1992, the Lark Distillery in Tasmania was founded. More followed, including the Sullivans Cove whisky distillery, which would go on to win the best single malt whisky gong at the World Whiskies Awards in 2014.