Last November most of the Australian spirit distillers united to form the Australian Distillers Association Inc.
The formation of an association has been on the agenda for many years but the causative action which galvanised the distillers was the current action of the Federal Government to remove vital pieces of legislation which maintains the high standards of product both produced and imported into the country.
The foundation member companies being:
Tasmania Distillery Hobart Tas
Whisky Tas Burnie Tas
Lark Distillery Hobart Tas
Great Southern Distilling Company Como WA
The Hoochery. Kununurra WA
Bakery Hill Distillery Melbourne Vic
The committee noted the objectives of the Association are to:
1) represent and advance the interests of the community of Australian distillers of consumable alcohol products
2) provide education to the general public on the distillation of alcoholic products and Australian distillers.
3) promote and encourage the science of distillation of alcohol.
4) promote the responsible consumption of alcohol.
5) lobby and work with established government and non government units with similar goals and philosophies.
It needs to be noted that all member distilleries oppose any lessening of the current wood maturation standards, or in fact any changes that will weaken the current quality standards and are currently lobbying the government to this end.