A Modern Era of Tasmanian Whisky

It's been over thirty years since Bill Lark talked Canberra into overturning a distilling ban that had stood since the 1830s, and in that time Tasmanian whisky has gone from legal curiosity to the closest thing Australasia has to a regional appellation. And there's a tight knit community of distillers who have built a whisky destination and profile to envy. Robbie Gilligan of Derwent Distillery joins me to talk about how that valley shapes what ends up in the glass — rainwater in the production line, recycled packaging out the door, and the harder question underneath it all: how a category this young convinces the world it deserves to stand on its own, rather than as a footnote to Scotland. We also get into what Australian and New Zealand whisky owe each other as they each make that case. Get full access to More Good Drinks at www.moregooddrinks.com/subscribe