Whisky was legally distilled in Tasmania two years before it was in Scotland, yet the home-grown industry lay dormant for more than 150 years.
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industry → distil → years
Then known as Van Diemen's Land, the distilling of spirits was declared illegal in 1839 by Governor John Franklin, whose wife, Lady Jane, reportedly declared that she would "prefer barley be fed to pigs than it used to turn men into swine".
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it → know → swine
The ban only eased in 1901 when national distilling laws passed, but it would take nearly 91 years before smaller producers were legally allowed to manufacture the liquor, thanks to the efforts of a man who became Tasmania's whisky godfather.
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who → ease → man
It ushered in the dawn of the state's booming whisky economy, thriving on the world stage even when it was shocked by jaw-dropping scandals.
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it → usher → scandals
Now a global whisky downturn is hitting distillers from Kentucky to Kilkenny and industry giants are bearing the brunt of it, pausing production and laying off staff as customers leave bottles on the shelves.
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customers → hit → shelves
While the old-fashioned boom-and-bust cycle is familiar for most distillers, the downturn represents the biggest challenge for Tasmania's whisky businesses since the state was governed by colonial law.
'Let's give it a go':
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's → represent → go
The birth of an industry
Until 1992, small-scale spirit operations were not permitted in Australia, with the country's distillation act requiring people to have built a commercial-sized distillery before applying for a licence.
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act → permit → licence
But that requirement was scrapped after a campaign from Hobart-based land surveyor and pub owner Bill Lark.
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requirement → scrap → Lark
"The idea to make whisky came … from a realisation that Tasmania must have had good barley because our local beers were being exported all over the world at the time and we knew our water was probably some of the best water in the world," Mr Lark told 7.30.
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Lark → make → 7.30
"And I just made a comment to my father-in-law and my wife, 'why isn't somebody making whisky in Tasmania?' and Lynn said to me, 'I don't know, Bill, but let's give it a go'.
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's → make → go
"When I look back, that was the start of the modern-day spirits industry in Australia, opening up the door for ... people to start with a small still and help us to produce good spirits here in Australia."
With a licence in hand, Bill and his wife Lynn went on to found Lark Distillery, and thanks to some advice from Scottish whisky giant John Grant, released their first batch of Tasmanian whisky in December 1998.
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Bill → look → December
"We had 150 bottles we could take to the market.
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we → have → market
We weren't sure whether people would like it, let alone buy it, but that sold out almost straight away," Mr Lark said.
"
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Lark → like → it
Our second release sold out before it was even bottled and it just sort of grew from there."
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it → sell → ?
Highs and lows of a young industry
In 2014, a seismic shift occurred in the whisky world when Hobart-based distillery Sullivans Cove was awarded best single malt whisky at the World Whisky Awards.
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Cove → occur → Awards
Sullivans Cove chief executive Andy Gaunt said the victory "changed everything" for the global whisky industry, and for the distillery, which until then had only been producing small amounts of the spirit.
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which → say → spirit
"It was really a moment that the whisky industry almost literally fell off their chair and realised that whiskies from the non-traditional countries were as good as, if not better in terms of quality, than whiskies from places like Scotland and Ireland and Japan and North America," he said.
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he → fall → Scotland
The collapse of Tasmanian whisky producer Nant in 2017 left investors thousands of dollars out of pocket, after they had purchased barrels with the promise of them being bought back by the distillery when the whisky matured.
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whisky → leave → distillery
Nant founder Keith Batt last year pleaded not guilty to 736 criminal offences.
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Batt → plead → offences
His case returns to court next February.
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case → return → court
In 2022, Lark chief executive Geoff Bainbridge resigned from his role after The Australian published footage of him intoxicated while allegedly smoking amphetamine.
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him → resign → amphetamine
And earlier this year, a Hobart magistrate dismissed charges against the Salamanca Whisky Bar, after allegations it had sold fake versions of the award-winning Sullivans Cove whisky.
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it → dismiss → whisky
A fall in demand has resulted in Jim Beam pausing production at its main Kentucky distillery for all of 2026.
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Beam → result → 2026
In Scotland, producer Holyrood has announced an indefinite pause, while administrators have been called into the community-owned GlenWyvis Distillery in the Highlands.
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administrators → announce → Highlands
In the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur, cost pressures have forced McHenry Distillery founder William McHenry to let staff members go and scale back production.
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members → force → production
"Coming out of COVID, we had two distillers, we had two brewers.
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we → come → brewers
We've let both brewers go, we've let one distiller go," he said.
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he → let → ?
"I largely do all the distilling now, [we've got] a part-time brewer, so the core production side of our business has really contracted a lot.
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side → do → business
"18 months ago we were distilling every day.
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we → distil → ?
Now I probably distill a couple times a month."
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I → distill → times
The decision to slow down production is not one whisky producers take lightly.
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producers → slow → production
Whisky spends a long time maturing in barrels before it makes its way onto shelves.
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it → spend → shelves
That process at McHenry Distillery takes about 10 years, meaning the decisions made about production now won't be felt until well into the future.
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decisions → take → future
"What worries me is that we're out there trying to get overseas business now … when the demand comes, we're going to be struggling to supply," Mr McHenry said.
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McHenry → worry → business
"We're going to have a look at our bond store and we're not going to have enough whisky there."
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we → go → whisky
Mr McHenry said his drop in sales is down to a number of factors, including an increasing number of distilleries, persistently high inflation and people choosing to buy cheaper imported products instead of more expensive Australian whiskies.
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drop → say → whiskies
He believes the "tightening" business conditions and the increased competition for customers could ultimately lead to some distilleries collapsing.
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distilleries → believe → customers
"It may push a few players out of the market that are either too small or just don't have the stamina to stay in it,"he said.
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that → push → stamina
Calls to overhaul excise remission
Some medium-sized distilleries argue the federal government's alcohol excise remissions scheme is stopping them from growing, and contributing to their slowdown.
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scheme → overhaul → slowdown
Whisky producers are charged an alcohol excise at a rate of $110 per litre of pure alcohol, but receive the first $400,000 of excise back as a tax refund.
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producers → charge → refund
…and 27 more, not listed.
The Aporia