It’s not hard to fall in love with Melbourne. The vibrant, cultural capital of the Southern Hemisphere is warm in all senses of the word. Temperate and full of charm, it holds a diverse and dynamic citizenry – the world’s 10th largest immigrant population. It’s an eminently walkable, wholly photogenic metropolis boasting the country’s most architecturally-significant skyline. Nearly 13 million visitors arrive each year to soak up the sun, sightsee along the Yarra River and rove an endless parade of galleries and gardens.
…Or you can just come for the whiskey. Particularly if you’re a fan of the high-end stuff. Over the past decade and a half, Melbourne has quietly evolved into a mecca for luxury whiskey lovers. It began in earnest in a former Qantas maintenance hangar on the outskirts of town. That’s where David Vitale started filling barrels back in 2010 under the Starward label. It was a fairly radical act. At the time, few commercial-scale single malt distilleries existed in Australia.
But Starward found success rather swiftly, relying on a fresh and fruity style of distillate often matured in casks seasoned by Australian fortified wine. Winning an impressive collection of international awards and establishing itself as the first Australian whiskey to secure widespread distribution across the US, it was foundational in hoisting the category upon a global stage. Today there are upwards of 120 domestic distilleries bottling some variety of the spirit.
So it’s only fitting that any drink-fueled journey through this part of the world kicks off with a whiskey masterclass and barrel tasting experience at Starward’s newer purpose-built facility in the Docklands Precinct, just west of the Central Business District. Here you can book a specialty tour every Saturday that includes samplings of spirit straight from the cask. If you’re lucky, master distiller Carlie Dyer might be on sight at the acre-sized warehouse to give some personal insight on what makes these liquids so singularly precious. The entire experience lasts for about 2.5 hours and costs $160 per person.
Afterwards, you can scour the giftshop for distillery-exclusive bottlings, like a cask strength offering finished in ex-Lagavulin barrels. This 110-proof belter noses with ocean air and reveals nutmeg-dusted smoked pineapple on the mid-palate. It’s a supremely sophisticated assemblage at $249 a bottle.
Exit onto the streets in the late afternoon in time for happy hour. A wide assortment of refined whiskey lounges are just a short 10-minute taxi ride away in the CBD. In recent years, these buttoned-up, dimly lit parlors have emerged as bellwether beacons of the city’s heightened drinks culture. Places like 1806, Whisky Den, the Elysian and Eau De Vie are all worthwhile examples where you can build any flight you fancy—particularly if you’re undeterred by exclusive Australian juice that pours out at a steep premium.
They’re all concentrated within walking distance, so it’s advisable to compare and contrast environs during an evening bar crawl. However you navigate your options, don’t miss out on the 15-year-old stalwart that helped launch the den trend: Whisky and Alement. It stands apart thanks to advanced expertise behind the bar and expert curation above it; valuing quality and quantity of equal consequence.
There’s over 1000 whiskies featured across 26 pages worth of menu and you might find yourself struggling to find anything you wouldn’t want to try. To whittle it down, focus on the two pages dedicated to the domestic specialities. A typical three-pour-flight might include esoteric Australian malts; a dry and peppery whiskey, aged in toasted ex-Shiraz barrels, from Victoria’s own Noodledoff distillery; a tannic, Tawny-influenced whisky from Waubs Harbor in Tasmania; and a jammy 103-proof berry-bomb from Winding Road in New South Wales. Each of them would be difficult to hunt down across much of Australia, let alone here in the States. And all of them are served at a minimum of $30 a pour.
When it’s time for dinner, you can still keep the spirits flowing at Farmer’s Daughter, a local favorite. The imaginative, eco-focused eater is a tough ticket these days. But with advanced reservation you ought to be able to belly up to the bar, where local ingredient-driven cocktails and cuisine are the stars of the show.
A rooftop bar, designed around a greenhouse, forms the logical setting for a sustainably-minded venue with a cocktail menu shaped by the seasons. Sip on the Soda Bread Sour, a New York Sour variant, in which the local Starward whiskey has been infused with unused bread from the kitchen and topped in a punchy, Australian Gamay. It splits the difference between savory and piquant and pairs effortlessly against the restaurant’s signature plum-dressed venison.
For dessert, amble through the hip and happening nightlife of Collingwood and Fitzroy. These adjoining neighborhoods are collectively regarded as the Williamsburg of Melbourne. The aesthetic parallels are immediately apparent to anyone who has strolled streets in both cities. But the connections flow even deeper when you dive into the bar scene here, with its penchant for Brooklyn-like experimentation and whimsy.
Above Board has been pushing that scene forward for the better part of a decade. The minimalist speakeasy doesn’t only avoid signage, it jettisons any sort of conventional evidence that it’s even a bar: bottlings, shelving and even technical equipment are all out of eyesight when you sidle up to the 16-seat counter. The scotch-based Better Late Than Never is a solid standout. Stretching from smoky to sweet with a litany of orchard fruit and chestnut, it ultimately affects an herbal resolve through green tea. When you’re mining this sort of playfulness out of scotch, it’s a good indicator that you’re in a city that knows its whisky, through and through. Melbourne will have you convinced after day one.
Melbourne’s Key Crawl Stops
Whisky Masterclass and Barrel Tasting at Starward Distillery — A two-and-a-half-hour immersion into the Australian whiskey category at the place that made it world famous.
Whisky and Alement — Over a thousand selections to pour through in this Old World-inspired drinks den and bottleshop.
Farmer’s Daughter — Sip sour dough-infused whiskey drinks at the rooftop bar of this fine-dining local favorite.
Above Board — An ode to minimalism, this Collingwood speakeasy is accessed by an unmarked set of stairs in a nondescript alleyway. Its expert preparations are worth hunting down.
Black Kite Commune — East End French bistro that doubles as a hub for high end mixology.
Byrdi — The most avant-garde cocktail program in town, with haute highballs and Rusty Nails built with burnt-miso infused scotch.
Caretaker’s Cottage — You’ll hardly have to pray for exceptional hospitality within this century-old bluestone cottage; the historical home of the neighboring cathedral’s caretaker.
This article was originally published on forbes.com.
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