Victoria in high spirits as craft distilleries continue to flourish

The treasurer and trade minister of Australia’s biggest beer manufacturing state has hailed the proliferation of small whiskey stills and gin pots across his manor as a premium-priced commodity that creates manufacturing jobs and export sales.

It is a surely sign of the epicurean and inflationary times we live in.

With not a single Sydney craft ale in sight, Victoria’s treasurer and minister for trade and investment took to the Fishermans Bend manufacturing precinct — where Holdens were once made — on Friday to make an official appearance at the multi-award winning Starward Distillery.

It might look and taste like a proper lazy Friday lunch lark, but Tim Pallas is pushing the hard stuff as far as he can. He wants the southern state pinned on the world map of seriously decent distilled products that give the Scots and Taswegians a run for their money.

Economics hard quiz

There is hard cash as well as hard booze in the local manufacturing revival policy, according to the state government.

“In 2021/22, the value of Victorian beverage exports grew by 36 per cent to $137 million with spirits a key to this growth. The value of spirits exports leapt by more than 60% to $34 million last financial year and has doubled in five years. Top markets are New Zealand, the United States and Singapore,” Pallas’ office said in a statement.

“The growth of the distillery sector in Victoria from zero producers 15 years ago has been phenomenal. There are now about 120 distilleries in Victoria — the most of any state — directly employing more than 1,000 workers.”

The growth of craft spirits and beers over the past five or so years has rather caught policymakers and big liquor off guard. Endeavour Group (Dan Murphy’s et al) a few years ago famously confessed in annual results that it had screwed up by betting big on French Champagne consumption and gifting over the holiday season when it was craft gin that stole the show, and the margin.

Starward is an undeniable success, with the company winning Most Awarded Distillery of the Year at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2022 for receiving the most golds.

“We’re proud to support local companies like Starward in taking their products to the world so that they can continue to grow their business at home, creating more jobs for Victorians,” Pallas said.

“Strong export growth for our beverages proves what we’ve known all along — Victorian-made drinks are some of the best in the world.”

Un-Russian mule

There’s also a race on to replace Russian-made grain spirits in the liquor industry following the invasion of Ukraine, with merchants selling Stolichnaya, the famed tipple of Ab Fab, hastily pointing out it’s now made in Latvia.

Australia’s two biggest cities have a mixed and tempestuous relationship with spirits, wine and ales.

New South Wales was notoriously known as the ‘Rum Colony’ when it ran out of cash and resorted to paying soldiers in hard booze, leading to a predictable breakdown of law, order and morals.

The so-called rum was frequently not made from cane sugar (unless it came off the boat) but anything that could be concocted, again, with predictably ordinary results.

Alas, the church (and later German and Italian migrants) came to the rescue and created a pre-Federation supply chain of beer and wine (‘tis in the good book) to knock down the potency.

Taking the proverbial

Such was Australia’s drinking culture before post-war migration that a remarkable piece of legislation remains on the NSW statute books that essentially deals with licenced and unlicenced degeneracy.

Colloquially known as the ‘disorderly houses’ laws, the combined liquor and vice laws give powers to police to raid and shut down premises when things, well, go to custard. Notably, it covers sex, drugs and booze.

It’s actually a subset of the ‘Restricted Premises’ laws but notable retention of warrantless powers of entry and search. They’re a fun read, as you can see below:

Part 2 Disorderly houses

Declaration by Supreme Court or District Court in relation to premises

(1)  On a senior police officer showing reasonable grounds for suspecting that all or any of the following conditions obtain with respect to any premises, that is to say—

(a)  that drunkenness or disorderly or indecent conduct or any entertainment of a demoralising character takes place on the premises, or has taken place and is likely to take place again on the premises, or

(b)  that liquor or a drug is unlawfully sold or supplied on or from the premises or has been so sold or supplied on or from the premises and is likely to be so sold again on or from the premises, or

(c)  that reputed criminals or associates of reputed criminals are to be found on or resort to the premises or have resorted and are likely to resort again to the premises, or

(d)  that any of the persons having control of or managing or taking part or assisting in the control or management of the premises—
(i)  is a reputed criminal or an associate of reputed criminals, or

(ii)  has been concerned in the control or management of other premises which have been the subject of a declaration under this Part, or

(iii)  is or has been concerned in the control or management of premises which are or have been frequented by persons of notoriously bad character or of premises on or from which liquor or a drug is or has been unlawfully sold or supplied

(Legal tragics can binge gorge imbibe appreciate the full text here)

One of the last, rare, publicised invocations of the archaic but evergreen law was in 2017 in the industrial back streets of ‘Sydenham’, which was transitioning from being a gritty inner industrial area to hipsterville, courtesy of the inner-west craft brewery trail establishing itself.

It appears the activities of an aggressively priced bordello came to the attention of police who shut it down due to high levels of poor, allegedly pharmaceutical-enhanced, behaviour inside and out.

That it was next to a remarkably well-patronised commuter car park and an up-and-coming craft brewery is literally coincidental. There’s no doubt either neighbour would prefer the other to be gone.

Affordable rent. Take it where you find it.

Know the players

Starward

Starward got a big boost in October 2020 when Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he would be enjoying a drink from “higher up the shelf” after announcing a major easing of Melbourne’s coronavirus restrictions. Starward whisky has been made in Port Melbourne since 2007 when founder David Vitale established the distillery with the goal to make a “distinctly Australian” dram.

Four Pillars

Gin giant Four Pillars unveiled a $7 million upgrade to its Yarra Valley location last year, making it the first carbon-neutral gin distillery in Australia under strict Climate Active certification. Four Pillars has gone from strength to strength since it was founded in 2013 — it won International Gin Producer of the Year in 2019 and 2020, and the World Gin Awards 2022 Icons of Gin Distiller of the Year and Brand Innovator of the Year.

Big Tree Distillery

Distilled in the Macedon Ranges region on Jack’s Springs Farm, Big Tree Distillery produces a range of farm crafted small batch Australian gins. Founded by former corporate high-flyers who ditched Melbourne to create a regional gin empire, 15 years later the distiller’s founders celebrated winning Best Classic Gin for its Elegant Dry at the World Gin Awards in London.

Kilderkin Distillery

Larrikin Gins and Liqueurs are produced by Kilderkin Distillery, a small distillery located in the historical Victorian city of Ballarat, a place with a long history of distilling, both illicit and licit. The brand’s signature gins are Scoundrel, a London dry gin and Original Larrikin, an Australian gin: both are infused with juniper, coriander seed and a range of carefully selected botanicals.

Brunswick Aces

Brunswick Aces Distillery describe themselves as “Australia’s favourite moderation distillery”. They have a range of gin and non alcoholic gin (sapiir) drinks with the same botanical flavour profile so you can enjoy their products whether you’re drinking alcohol or not.

The article was first published by The Mandarin.