I’m often asked, “Which do you think is the best Australian whisky”? It’s a difficult question to answer, although I had a fair crack at answering it in this article here. One of the problems in answering the question is that it can depend on how much you’re comfortable spending? Ask me what is the best Australian whisky for under $150 and I’ll give you one answer. Ask me what is the best Australian whisky for under $300 and I might answer something different. And we’re all too aware that there are plenty of Australian single malts being sold at RRP’s much higher than $300! Of course, the inconvenient irony here is that it doesn’t necessarily follow that the $300 whisky is actually better than the $150 whisky! But as we discussed previously in the article referenced above, one of the key metrics in deciding which is the best Australian whisky is the “bang for your buck” factor. There have been some exceptional Aussie malts sold out of Tasmania in recent times, but if the RRP is over $900 and the whisky is effectively inaccessible to most consumers – then how good it is can be a moot point. And so we often have to ply a line of best fit. Or, you can simply nominate Iniquity Gold.
Tag: Adelaide Hills
78 Degrees – an Australian whiskey with a twist
If you’ve followed the news, gossip, and under-currents of the Australian whisky industry over the last year or two, you’ll be aware that it’s an extremely dynamic scene right now. New distilleries are popping up everywhere; new releases & products are being launched; distilling methods and products are diversifying; distillery ownerships are changing hands; and the industry is genuinely in a state of “blink and you’ll miss something”.
In a space that is becoming increasingly crowded, each new distillery fights for its point of difference or to latch on to something tangible that sells their story. Phrases like “craft”, “finest ingredients”, “pristine environment”, “care and attention to detail”, and the classic “traditional methods” simply don’t carry much weight or meaning anymore, and – with due respect to all involved – it can seem a bit forced for those distilleries that have simply copied or modelled their plant and operations on the same blueprint and template as the many distilleries that stepped out before them.
It’s thus noteworthy when a distillery comes along that is genuinely innovating and doing something different. The 78 Degrees distillery is one such pioneer…
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