The Australian consumer trend to purchase locally produced liquor has been highlighted by an incredible 150 per cent spike in sales of Australian whisky at Dan Murphy’s in the last six months.
The retailer recorded high points of customer interest in local whisky during the key selling periods of Christmas and Father’s Day.
To meet this growing popularity, Dan Murphy’s has doubled its range, now stocking 120 Australian whiskies. This means that stores with a wider range of premium whisky now have an entire bay dedicated to the segment.
“Customers have started to discover that Australian whisky can compete on the world stage when it comes to flavour and complexity. There are some great flavours and stories to explore from distilleries in our own backyard,” said Dark Spirit Manager for Dan Murphy’s James Duvnjak.
Although Australian whisky is often compared to single malt Scotch when it comes to flavour, it is distinctively unique. The key to its popularity and how it finds a point of difference in the huge international whisky category lies with the distillers and the specialised Australian-only products they use.
Gabrielle Millane, Brand Manager for South Australia’s Twenty Third Street Distillery, said the team has: “access to quality grains and unique maturation climates which provide a framework to produce world-class whisky.
“Our distilling team have always viewed whisky as an exciting category given the endless possibilities for producing covering grain options, barrel selections and maturation techniques.”
David Vitale, Founder of Victorian whisky brand Starward, added that he sources his unique taste by using “arguably some of the best red wine barrels in the world, found right in our own backyard.”
He said: “with the quality of ingredients and materials available from within a day’s drive from Melbourne, we tried something new and never looked back”.
Millane believes when it comes to Australian whisky, there is a lot more flexibility in innovation compared to other traditional styles. This has clearly been supported by the Australian consumer as illustrated in Dan Murphy’s recent boost in sales.
“There’s a real opportunity for Australian whisky to lead in creating innovative and unique whisky styles, focusing on the locality of the distillery,” she said.
“Our vision for our Australian whisky is to provide consumers with accessible and quality whisky offerings that showcase our great country and the spirits that can be crafted here in Australia.”