Distilling

Distilling small was simply illegal in Australia until 1990. The minimum still size was set at 2,700 liters, a figure completely out of reach for any craft distillery. Since that limit was lifted, Victoria shows just how differently distilleries can use the same new freedom.

Bakery Hill in Bayswater stays deliberately small. The wash is brewed in 1,000-liter batches, then double-distilled in a copper pot still, following the Scottish model closely. The mash bill is one hundred percent malt. Color comes only from the barrel, never from a bottle of caramel coloring.

Copper is no accident here. During evaporation and condensation, the metal binds sulfurous compounds that would otherwise taste harsh and aggressive. Without this metal, the raw spirit would smell noticeably sharper and less pleasant. Distillers rely on this effect everywhere, whether the still stands in Speyside or in Bayswater, Victoria.

In Sydney, Archie Rose takes its own path, producing rye malt whisky alongside single malt, a combination uncommon in Scottish-influenced Victoria. In 2020, that very whisky was named the best rye whisky in the world, showing just how differently Australian distilleries interpret the same craft.

In the end, though, the same moment decides everywhere: the cut, when the distiller separates the heads and tails and lets only the middle heart run into the casks. Only after that does the real transformation begin in Victoria. It happens in the barrel, not in the still.