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Australian whisky, the sleeping giant of the industry!

Written by Jenni Coward on . Posted in .

Throughout the early 2010s, Australian whisky existed as nothing more than a curiosity outside its home country for those well-connected collectors willing to spend $300 or more on a bottle.

It’s only very recently found an auspicious footing in the international arena.

Globally, the category’s volume swelled by almost 91% in 2021 to 400,000 litres, with a 60% increase in compound annual growth rate between 2016 and 2021, according to data from IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. It’s forecasted to grow to almost 1.2 million litres per annum by 2026.

Despite the recent buzz around Australian whisky, our country actually has a long distillery history that came to an abrupt close. In1822, Australia’s first legal distillery was opened in Tasmania but by 1839 distillation was made illegal in Tasmania. The prohibition remained in place until 1992.

Since then the boutique whisky distillation industry has been steadily growing and receiving international recognition.

 

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