Victoria & New South Wales Flashcards
(19 cards)
When did whisky production (blended) begin in Victoria, Aus
-from the 1930s on
-Victoria is the largest
Starward
-founded in Melbourne in 2009 by Chris Middleton and Lark alumuns David Vitale
-aging in Apera (fortified wines) casks and ex-red wine cask
-40% ABV whiskies
-injection of capital from Diageo’s Distell ventures - Starward is now globally distributed
What are anchors to Australian whiskies according to David Vitale from Starward?
-Local grains
-local barrels
-wide variety of climate
Bakery HIll
-founded by David Baker and son Andrew in 1999
-adapting to local conditions based on process
The Gospel
-founders Andrew Fitzgerald and Ben Bowles
-100% Rye whiskies
-Unmalted Rye comes from single farm in the Murray Mallee region
-Fermented on grain
-runs through Self made columns and then finished in pot still
-coming off still at 78% ABV before being barrelled at 58% into heavily toasted and lightly charred American oak
Chief’s Son
-Mornington Pennisula
-founded in 2016 by Stuart and Naomi McINtosch
-Single Malt, double distilled in pots
-Malt made to distillery specs by Voyager malts with Scottish peat for some expressions
Voyager Malt
-Australia is the second largest exporter of barley in the world
-mostly commodity
-in 2014 4th generation Riverina farmers Stu Whitecross and Brad Woolner spotted gap in market and started Voyager Craft Malt.
-encouraging distillers to meet people growing their grain
-Flexibility in type of grain, batch size, kilning has been built from the start
-in 2020 the firm opened Whitton Malt House for both increased overall capacity and a visitor’s center
Other Victoria distilleries
-NED Whisky
-Kinglake Distillery
Morris
-Rutherglen
-started as winery, now making whisky (Casella)
-consulting from John McDougall and Jim Swan
-Rutherglen is large cereal growing region
-STR casks (ex Shirz, Cab Sauv, Muscat)
Backwoods Distilling
-grain from nearby Riverina region and wineries for casks
-Heritage grain varieties
-three barleys used for single malt, as well as different ranges
-Rye was a forgotten low-yielding strain discovered growing wild in a paddock
-Smoking over red gum hardwood
Archie Ross
-Suburbs of Sydney
-built on a grand scale
-exploration with Voyager Malts
-heirloom varieties, lost grains, old ryes, malting techniques
-six malted barleys and three malted ryes are mashed, fermented, and distilled and aged separately - then blended
-then barreled based on best option for that distillate
-gives blenders 15 whiskies to play with
Manly Spirits Co.
-Beachside suburb of Sydney fired up stills in 2017.
-all production in house and each spirit has its own dedicated still
-two pots for whisky, with a boil bulb on the spirit adding reflux
Corowa
-Scotch style Australian distillery
-Kilchoman way of making whisky
-while making fruitier, sweeter new make character
Black Gate Distillery
-Mendoran (pop. 554)
-brainchild of Brian and Genise Hollingworth
-dry parts of the state with high of 40C + in summer and -5C in winter
-production based on the Scottish model
Cape Byron
-Pamela and Martin Brook
-Jim McEwan consultant
Fleurieu
-Single Malt made from South Australian barley (with some peated barley)
-blending is important to create rich, balanced, whisky
-all single malts are a blend of different casks, sizes and ages
Tin Shed
-double distilled in pot stills and smoked with local peat or hardwoods
-Sustainability is also key
-sustainability is an economic imperative
-new site is solar powered - the still electric
Limeburners
-Cameron Syme started distilling in Albany in 2007
-now one of three distilleries in Cameron’s Great Southern Distilling Company portfolio
Whipper Snapper
-Western Australia’s Wheatbelt
-Jimmy McKeown and Alasdair Malloch in 2014
-process is slightly different than most
-mash kettles vs mash tuns
-fermenting in open-topped washbacks on-grain
-using a warm, short fermentation to get fruity character
-distilled in a four plate hybrid still
