South Australian whisky is progressing at pace, as you can see from the snapshot below. I’ve travelled through the wine state on two occasions this year and the spirits industry is booming.
There’s no doubt whisky will be a big part of the SA spirits story moving forward. But how will South Australian whisky define itself against the rest of the country’s producers? Does it even need to?
Naturally, wine casks will feature prominently. When talking to some of the SA distillers featured below, there’s still debate about how ‘wine-cask forward’ their whiskies should be. Some have even told me they’re thinking about going the other way entirely and maturing the bulk of their whisky in ex-Bourbon or less active refill casks.
The diversity of approaches is something we’ve already encountered when reviewing other SA producers not featured here, including the superlative St Agnes Distillery, Barossa Distilling Co, 36 Short Distillery, and Adelaide Distillery Co.
One of the strengths of the SA scene is the variety of the offering. From exceptional single malt to profound experimental approaches with native grains and other cereals, and now, keenly priced core range bottlings that ask questions of whisky produced in other parts of the country.
Across the board, SA new make is first rate. Quality local grain along with a deep understanding of brewing and fermentation in South Australia has assisted there. Cask selection will continue to improve in coming years as well, especially as larger parcels of aged stock come online and distillers develop a better understanding of which casks, which wine casks in particular, work best with their spirit and how to manage their influence.
But all the ingredients are here. And as Fleurieu Distillery’s Gareth and Angela Andrews have already proven, when you get the details and the recipe right (even a recipe for a vacuous brand), then South Australia can produce some of the finest whisky made anywhere in this part of the world.
