I won’t prattle on about the year that’s been. You’ve no doubt already heard dozens of reflections on the last twelve months, so I won’t add more.
I do want to congratulate the Australian whisky industry for persevering through the mayhem. And I especially want to thank all you readers for coming on the journey with us this year. We really appreciate your support and your interest.
The Oz Whisky Review team were amazed at the quality of Australian whisky released over the last twelve months. From new entrants to established producers, the industry is rapidly progressing, and there are so many exciting whiskies and projects to get around at the moment.
Here, we’ve tried to keep things pretty simple. When we sat down to think about our top whiskies of the year, we drew up and argued over our ‘best of’ list, but then felt there were some brilliant whiskies that also deserved a mention. So we’ve added a favourites list below to shine a light on the whiskies we thought were pretty damn special in their own way.
There’s some crossover, which will give you an idea of how we arrived at our top 10. But the specific criteria for our selection was quality of the whisky, value for money (a hot-button issue), and general awesomeness.
Feel free to disagree, agree or tell us about your top whiskies of the year in whatever forum you favour. Despite the train wreck that was 2020, we reckon it’s been an incredible year for the growth of the industry, and we can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in 2021.
Oz Whisky Review’s Top 10 Whisky Releases of 2020
Overeem Man of Promise Single Malt Whisky, Overeem Distillery (TAS), $215
A super impressive whisky, and one of the feel good stories of 2020. Everyone’s excited to see how Overeem Whisky evolves in coming years.
The Gospel Single Cask #35 Rye Whiskey, The Gospel Distillers (VIC), $130
A belter of a cask from The Gospel Distillers, who crushed it in 2020 with affordable, seriously high-quality rye whiskies.
Furneaux 100% Flinders Island Peated Bourbon Cask Single Malt Whisky, Furneaux Distilling Co. (TAS), $180
Don’t know if we’ve come across a more complicated way of making heavily peated whisky. But the first releases from Furneaux were pretty spectacular, capturing Australian coastal peat flavours in a whole new way.
Starward Fortis Single Malt Whisky, New World Whisky Distillery (VIC), $130
We were a little unsure about how this release would be received. But we loved it, and it’s now clear that we weren’t alone. Another big year for Starward.
Black Gate Peated Single Malt Whisky BG074, Black Gate Distillery (NSW), $170
Jules summed this one up perfectly: ‘It says peated, and that’s exactly what you get, and that warrants the level of oak and wine thrown at it. Bravo!’
Archie Rose Sandigo Heritage Rye, Archie Rose Distilling Co. (NSW), $149
For sheer complexity, this is up there with some of the top Australian whiskies released in recent years.
Highwayman Single Malt Whisky (NSW), $250 approx
We debated which batch was our favourite, and then realised it didn’t matter. Some fascinating stuff released by Dan Woolley this year. And we’re super keen to try his Byron Bay-distilled whisky when it’s ready.
Whipper Snapper Wheat Whiskey, Whipper Snapper Distillery (WA), $125
A real stunner from the Whipper Snapper guys in Perth. Brilliant idea, brilliantly executed, and great value.
Backwoods Rye Whisky, Backwoods Distilling Co. (VIC), $130
A lot of folks, not just us, would mark this down as their favourite new release of the year.
Country to Coast Collab Black Gate and Fleurieu Malt Whisky Blend (SA/NSW), $185
This represented the best of the Aussie whisky industry this year. Coming together to make and share, that’s what it’s all about. And a new one’s just be released, too!
Oz Whisky Review Best of 2020
Favourite whisky innovation: 
Native Grain Whisky Weeping Grass, Adelaide Hills Distillery (SA), $450
This has the potential to create a completely new style of Australian whisky. And that, we think, is pretty incredible. Archie Rose’s single malt was also up there, but there’s obviously more to come on that front.
Favourite collaboration whisky: 
Country to Coast Collab Black Gate And Fleurieu Malt Whisky Blend, $185
We also loved Bakery Hill’s The Blunderbuss collab with Hop Nation and Lark’s collab with Wolf of the Willows (minus the labeling malarkey).
Favourite blended whisky:
Lark Symphony NO. 1, Lark Distillery, Nant Distillery and ??? (TAS), $139
A controversial selection! But considering the debate it sparked, how good it tastes, and the progression it signals, we think it deserves a guernsey here.
Favourite single malt:
Overeem Man of Promise, Overeem Distillery
Other single malts we had right up there were from Fleurieu, Hobart Whisky, Spring Bay and Bakery Hill.
Favourite peated whisky:
Furneaux 100% Flinders Island Peated ex-Bourbon cask release
Plenty of interesting peated Australian whisky around at the moment from the likes of Black Gate, Adams, Riverbourne and Hellyers Road. We just love Furneaux’s approach, which is why it gets the nod.
Favourite new distillery first release:
Backwoods Rye Whisky, Backwoods Distillery
Other top first releases in 2020 came from Lawrenny Estate Distilling and 5Nines Distilling.
Favourite independent bottling:
Highwayman Single Malt Whisky
It was a strong year for independent bottling, and there were brilliant whiskies released by Heartwood/TIB, Spirit Thief Distilling Co., The Whisky Club, The Remnant Whisky Company, Dark Valley and Craft Works.
Favourite corn whisky:
Whipper Snapper Upshot Cask Strength (Batch 4), Whipper Snapper Distillery, $155
We think this is an underrated gem. Incredibly flavourful at an amazing price.
Favourite grain whisky:
Upshot Wheat Whiskey, Whipper Snapper Distillery
Belgrove Oat Whisky Batch 4, a cracking whisky, was also right up there. We also enjoyed Nonesuch Single Grain Whisky this year.
Favourite rye whisky:
The Gospel Single Cask #35 Rye Whiskey
Followed closely by Archie Rose Sandigo Heritage Rye and Backwoods.
Favourite bang for your buck whisky:
The Gospel Straight Rye, The Gospel Distillers, $89-92
Honorable mentions to Chief’s Son The Tanist, 5Nines Vatted-Lightly Peated and Starward Fortis. But $90 for a quality (700ml) Aussie rye is hard to beat.