Australian whisky
[1] The industry has shown steady growth since the early 90s especially in the boutique craft distilling scene.
Distillation was legalised by the governor of New South Wales at the end of 1820, and by 1822 the first legal distillery was opened near Hobart Town.
[3] The second major period in Australian whisky history began when large British distilling companies started opening distilleries within Australia, using imported materials from Britain.
At the time protectionist laws gave both companies a 40% price advantage over imported Scotch whisky.
This led to a significant drop in demand for the lower quality whisky being produced in Australia domestically.
[1] Notable Distilleries: Whisky has been made in South Australia since the 1890s, produced in both column and pot stills.
The climate has a large diurnal temperature range, and seasonal variation, which is desirable for whisky maturation.
Whisky produced during the mid-1900s had a poor reputation locally, and was considered inferior to imported products.
[2] The award was of particular importance as it marked the first time a distillery outside of Scotland or Japan had won, and helped garner worldwide attention for the relatively small Australian whisky industry, and was an excellent source of international promotion.
[2][4][5] Australian whiskies continued performing well internationally with multiple distilleries placing highly in worldwide competitions, notably Sullivans Cove continued to be awarded the world's best single cask single malt whisky in 2018 and 2019.
[25] In addition to the single malts, in 2020 Archie Rose Distillery was awarded the world's best rye whisky, a category formerly dominated by the United States and Canada.
[23][2] While the US stipulates bourbon be made using only new unused American oak barrels, Australia (and Scotland) does not have this constraint.
[13][26] As worldwide awareness of Australian whisky grows, many producers are beginning to export larger quantities overseas.
[13] As of 2020, the whisky industry in Australia remains relatively small, and Australians consume only an estimated 1% of locally made spirits.
