The Best Australian Spirits if You’re Looking for a Local Tipple

It’s easy to fall into habits and routines when it comes to picking something to drink. Maybe you’ve stuck with one brand because that’s what you started with all those years ago, or you gravitate to certain spirits because it’s cheap and will get the job done.

Sometimes your favourite meal or drink isn’t necessarily the best, and there’s a whole wide world of flavours and experiences waiting to be discovered. Can you say you’ve really had a cheeseburger if you’ve only eaten McDonald’s?

Australia has a number of top-notch distilleries putting out award-winning spirits. It might be time you ditch that bottom-shelf whisky you’ve stuck with through thick and thin, and start exploring what’s available in your own backyard.

Here are a few spirits from local distilleries that deserve a space on your bar shelf.

Over the past decade, Four Pillars has firmly established itself as one of the Big Dogs of Australian Gin, racking up a pool room’s worth of awards for its Rare Dry Gin alone.

It’s crafted from local and international botanicals, which include Macedonian juniper, Sri Lankan cassia and Vietnamese star anise, along with Australian-grown oranges, coriander and lemon myrtle. The end result is a delicious, floral gin with a subtle spiciness.

The Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin is available here.

If whisky is your drink of choice, then Melbourne-based Starward deserve your attention. A smooth and fruity dram, the Starward Two-Fold Whisky has notes of sweet berries, caramel and vanilla spice.

The Two-Fold combines Australian malted barley and wheat, which is distilled in barrels from vineyards that had been once used for Australian red wines. To keep these red flavour profiles, Starward will give these barrels either a light char or a quick blast of steam.

The Starward Two-Fold Whisky is available here.

If you ask people to recommend you Australian-made spirits, they’ll most likely suggest either a gin or a whisky. If neither of those is quite your pace or taste, but you prefer your liquor to be as clear as your unemployed mate’s schedule, then Hartshorn’s Sheep Whey Vodka could do the trick.

Using sheep’s whey, this double-distilled vodka is as smooth and velvety as a Prince song, with a delicate sweetness, fruity freshness and subtle spiciness. This vodka is best enjoyed neat or as a martini. It also managed to nab the ‘Best Varietal Vodka of Australia’ five years in a row at the World Vodka Awards.

The Hartshorn Sheep Whey Vodka is available here.

At this point, every man and his dog have a gin business going. We saw a massive boom in the local production of gin over the past decade or so, with consumption growing by almost 33% from 2017 to 2018. In a market soaked with clear fluids, Ink Gin really stands out.

Launched in 2012, Ink Gin has a refreshing aroma and flavour of spice and citrus. But what makes Ink unique is that when in its bottle, this butterfly pea-infused craft gin has an inky blue colouration. But the moment you mix it with tonic water, it turns pink. That’s some real magic potion-type stuff.

The Ink Gin is available here.

Lark Plays a crucial role in Australia’s history of startup distilleries. Its origins are tied to its founder, Bill Lark, leading a push to amend Australia’s distillation laws in 1992, which had previously outlawed producing small quantities of spirits. This would lead to Lark becoming the first Australian distillery to produce a single malt spirit in 154 years.

Since then, Lark has gone on to rack up plenty of awards for whiskies and spirits. That includes this double-distilled single malt, which is quite balanced, with a floral and oaky nose, and a fruity palate.

The Lark Classic Cask Single Malt Whisky is available here.

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