Why is Australian whisky so expensive?

We often get asked, why is Australian whisky so expensive? 

Australian whisky (including Tasmanian whisky) has earned itself a premium, high quality reputation but with that, comes the high price point.  There's a number of reasons why Australian whisky is so expensive and it comes down to some of the below factors.

1. Limited Volume: Compared to more established whisky industries around the world, such as Scotland, the majority of Australian distilleries are relatively small and produce limited quantities. Without these larger volumes, the cost of production is incredibly high.
   

2. Premium Ingredients: Australian whisky is known for its high quality and the majority of Australian distilleries use local ingredients, such as Tasmanian barley which is beautifully rich & oily, and import premium barrels from all over the world, which is expensive, but well worth it.
   

3. Barrel maturation: It takes a minimum of 3 years (and often 5-10+ years) to age whisky in barrels, making it an expensive process, including storage costs, insurance.
   

4. Whisky tax: Australia's tax on distilled spirits, such as whisky is incredibly high, compared to other countries such as Scotland and the USA.  Often, a third of the bottle retail price goes straight to tax, forcing smaller producers to sell for a high price.

5. Craftsmanship & innovation: Many Australian distilleries are very hands-on and traditional with their distilling and are less automated than large scale production facilities. This enables them to be more creative and innovative, experimenting with flavour profiles through yeast cultivation, peat smoking, special cask maturation, local collaborations and more. This, of course, contributes to the answer to the question, why is Australian whisky so expensive.

See more on our maritime Australian whisky here.