At the Australian Distillers Association 2022 Conference in April, Greg Holland from Spirits & Cocktails Australia, advised participants of the opportunity to join him at the SpiritsEurope conference to be held in Dublin. The following delegates opted into a unique opportunity for professional development and networking with global peers.

The delegation consisted of:

Over the course of the program, the delegation engaged in roundtable meetings with our peers from the Irish Whiskey Association and Scotch Whisky Association to discuss key issues impacting the Australian spirits category, including technical standards, sustainability and trade with the UK and Ireland. These roundtable meetings were complemented by the delegation’s attendance at the spiritsEUROPE Congress in Dublin, which provided insight into the European experience of responding to rising inflation and supply chain issues in the wake of COVID, and trade issues emerging from Brexit and the negotiation of new EU and UK free trade agreements.

spiritsEUROPE also extended an invitation for Greg and Australian Distillers CEO Paul McLeay, as respective heads of our trade associations, to deliver a presentation on the impact of global and local spirits producers working together on joint advocacy initiatives. Their presentation was followed by a similar presentation from Chris Swonger of DISCUS, and together these sessions were used as a catalyst for a discussion among spiritsEUROPE members to consider their forward plan for global and local producers working together on issues impacting their domestic markets, and across Europe. DISCUS has invited us to present a similar proposal and organise a trade delegation at their conference in May next year.

The delegations’ engagements in Dublin were enhanced by positive interactions with the Australian Ambassador to Ireland, who attended the roundtable meeting with the Irish Whiskey Association and a dinner event with Spirits & Cocktails. The Ambassador shared his enthusiasm and support for the growth of Australian-produced spirits to be exported to Ireland and has been forthcoming with ideas and offers of support since our engagement with him.

Behind-the-scenes tours.

Additionally, the delegation attended a series of behind-the-scenes tours of distilleries and visitor experiences in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland. These visits were facilitated by colleagues at both Irish Whiskey Association and Scotch Whisky Association, with the generous support of several our members. These visits were also often led by distillers and senior managers of the visitor experiences, which provided several opportunities for meaningful discussions with the delegation.

The distillery visits and experiences included:

   

UK/Australia Free Trade Agreement

Additionally, there were meetings with Australian consular and trade officials in London to discuss the UK/Australia Free Trade Agreement and market entry opportunities for Australian-manufactured spirits products. As well as the World Spirits Alliance, where Australia was able to participate as a panellist to discuss nutrition and health labelling issues, in particular Australia’s recent experience of pregnancy warning labelling and our ongoing engagement with FSANZ on sugar and energy labelling. Thank you to David Ridden for being able to attend the component in Geneva.

The delegation also discussed key issues impacting the Australian spirits category including sustainability and trade with the UK and Ireland, insights into the European experience of responding to rising inflation and supply chain issues in the wake of COVID, and trade issues emerging from Brexit and the negotiation of new EU and UK free trade agreements

The delegation also benefited from behind-the-scenes tour and knowledge sharing from large and craft distilleries in Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland to deepen their understanding of the processes and scale of production.

The benefits of the tour include:

The Presentation made by the CEOs to SpiritsEUROPE and the presentations given by Irish Whiskey Association and Scotch Whisky Association are attached and can be accessed by members below.

Spirits & Cocktails Australia & Australian Distillers Presentation - spiritsEUROPE Congress

IWA-Australia Presentation 

SCA – Australia Presentation 

   

Let your spirits soar.

Established in 2015 and developed in close consultation with the executive of Australian Distillers, the Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards are Australia’s first and largest national spirits competition highlighting the innovation and excellence of Australian spirits.

The Awards are shaped by an Industry Advisory Group who work closely with Melbourne Royal to maintain the program’s relevance and to develop its future direction. The Group features some of the Australian distilling and bar industry’s most highly regarded professionals –

Seb Costello – Head Judge, formerly of Bad Frankie

Julian White – Whisky & Alement

Luke McCarthy – Founder & Editor, Oz Whisky Review

Sebastian Reaburn – Anther Distillery

Stuart Gregor – Australian Distillers President, Four Pillars Distillery

Following a detailed review, the Awards have once again evolved to best represent the industry and its diversity and sees the introduction of a new trophy for Whisky.

After successfully delivering the Awards remotely through the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, judging this year returns to in-person at Melbourne Showgrounds in August, with entries now open.

Key dates

For further information contact

Damian Nieuwesteeg

Email

To enter visit

melbourneroyal.com.au/spirits 

Australia’s Starward Whisky has been named the Most Awarded Distillery of the Year at the world’s largest and most competitive international spirit competition; the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC).

Melbourne-based Starward is the first Australian distillery to take the top honour in the competition’s 22 year history, beating close to 5,000 of the world’s most renowned spirits including whisky, gin, and tequila from countries such as Scotland, Japan, USA and UK.

The Most Awarded Distillery of the Year title follows Starward’s win of 12 Double Gold and 3 Gold medals at the SFWSC in April 2022. This was the largest haul of perfectly scored gold medals by any distillery across the entire 2022 competition.

This title is only awarded to distilleries who have consistently produced the finest quality spirits, and Starward is thrilled and humbled to be awarded this global accolade.

Starward Founder, David Vitale said: “To become the first Australian whisky to be named the Most Awarded Distillery of the Year at the world’s most competitive spirits competition is a dream come true.” 

“Fifteen years ago we had an idea to bring an approachable and delicious Melbourne whisky to life and to receive this recognition confirms what we’ve always known, that Australia is home to some of the finest whisky and spirits in the world,” he said.

“This achievement would not be possible without the passion, commitment and shared dream of our team. With this win, we are excited to take Starward to new horizons both here and abroad,” David said.

Paul McLeay, CEO Australian Distillers Association said: “The Australian Distillers Association are very excited to celebrate with Starward on this momentous and historical win,” Paul said.

“This recognition will help further the industry’s emergence on the global stage and accelerate the growth of the Australian Spirits Industry. There’s exciting times ahead for both Starward and our Spirits Industry,” he said.

Starward’s award winning whisky is available for purchase at its website, at the Starward distillery in Port Melbourne, at certain bars and restaurants across the country and national drinks retailers including Dan Murphys, Vintage Cellars, BWS and Liquorland.

The NSW Government will subsidise up to 12 NSW-based niche and specialty food and beverage manufacturers to exhibit in the Flavours of NSW zone at Fine Food Australia 2022 in Melbourne.

Many businesses across NSW have been impacted by flooding and COVID-19 in recent months, so to ensure adequate time to complete their expression of interest to receive a $5,000 subsidy to exhibit in the Flavours of NSW zone at Fine Food Australia 2022, Investment NSW is extending the closing date for applications to 30 May 2022.

The Flavours of NSW zone showcases the diverse food and beverage manufacturing capabilities of NSW and promotes NSW Government support for the industry. Subsidy recipients will receive $5,000 towards their exhibition costs at Fine Food Australia, which is being held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 5 to 8 September, 2022.

Applications to express your interest close on 30 May 2022.

FIND OUT MORE

Australian whiskies are some of the world’s best, consistently recognised for their quality and innovation. Time and again, they have won over discerning judges to bring home coveted international awards, delighting whisky fans along the way.

In 2022 we celebrate 30 years of contemporary Australian craft distilling. This modern story began in 1992 when Bill and Lyn Lark were granted the first licence to distil whisky in Tasmania since 1839, becoming the first Australian distillery to produce single malt spirit in 154 years.

On the 30-year anniversary of Australian craft distilling, we invited you to join with the ‘Godfather of Australian Whisky’, Bill Lark, to create a special blend to celebrate this significant milestone. The response was nothing short of incredible. Thirty-six Australian distilleries contributed their carefully crafted spirits, which were then expertly blended by Bill to create The Big Blend.

While this unique whisky is not available for sale, all participants of the 2022 Australian Distillers conference will receive a specially packaged and labelled bottle of this very special blend. This extraordinary collaboration of Australian Distillers members reflects 30 years of passion, creativity, dedication, entrepreneurship, and true Australian spirit. Australian Distillers extends our appreciation and thanks to all of the distilleries who contributed whisky to The Big Blend.

An historic alliance of award-winning craft distillers and large spirits companies is in Canberra this week calling for urgent government action to fix Australia’s punitive spirits tax regime.

Australia currently has the third highest spirits tax in the world, with automatic six-monthly indexation further increasing the disproportionate burden placed on spirits, compared to all other alcohol categories.

A joint Pre-Budget Submission by the Australian Distillers Association and Spirits & Cocktails Australia recommends reducing the spirits tax to match brandy, and freezing CPI increases for three years to ease the burden on distillers recovering from bushfires and COVID-19 lockdowns. The alliance is also calling for an increase in the excise refund limit, from $100,000 to $350,000, to grant craft distillers an equivalent level of support to small wine producers.

“About two-thirds of Australian distillers are based in rural and regional communities and after a horror year, they urgently need this unfair tax fixed,” ADA President and Four Pillars cofounder Stuart Gregor said.

“Once they bounce back, we know the benefits will flow from the farm to the glass. They’ll create more jobs, buy more produce from rural suppliers and help attract tourism to their communities, but they are being held back by this punitive tax burden.”

Critically, the Submission’s recommended action would also be revenue-positive, boosting tax revenues by $1.4 billon over forward estimates, according to independent modelling conducted by PwC.

Spirits & Cocktails Australia Chief Executive Greg Holland also cited evidence from the United Kingdom, where a decision in 2017 to freeze the spirits tax actually boosted government revenue and prompted a wave of investment, particularly in rural areas.

“In comparison, Australia’s out-of-control tax is now so high, it is actually suppressing demand, meaning less revenue than if the tax rate was lower,” Mr Holland said.

“This simple change would mean more money in government coffers to spend on social services and other investment as the economy recovers from COVID, as well as a much-needed stimulus for our distillers and the tourism and hospitality sectors.

“What’s more, we know Australian spirits can compete on the world stage and they have the potential to become a lucrative export earner. But right now you can buy a bottle of Australian whisky or gin in the USA and pay less than you pay here. That’s just crazy.”

The modelling, conducted for Spirits & Cocktails Australia by consultancy firm PwC, analysed three different options to make Australia’s alcohol tax regime more fair by either: cutting the spirits tax rate to match the brandy rate; freezing CPI rises for three years; or a combination of both measures.

The PwC modelling showed all three options would aid the spirits sector while generating more revenue for Treasury.

SPIRITS PRODUCERS have claimed the Federal Government is “giving with one hand and taking with the other” as the hospitality sector braces for the fourth alcohol tax rise in two years spent battling COVID.

Spirits and Cocktails Australia chief executive Greg Holland described the excise hike of 2.1%, announced by the Australian Tax Office yesterday, as “brutal” at a time when many hospitality operators were struggling to remain afloat.

“Spirits producers in Australia are part of a hospitality ecosystem that is on its knees across the country, with many of our businesses battling the perfect storm of staff shortages, supply chain problems and depressed consumer confidence,” Mr Holland said.

“The Australian way is to give a hand in a time of crisis, but instead this government has given us a hike – the fourth brutal tax hike since COVID arrived on our shores.”

Australia infamously has the third highest spirits tax in the world, after Norway and Iceland, with the impost worsening every six months due to automatic CPI-linked increases. The punishing regime has created a situation where up to 60% of the retail price of an average 700ml bottle of spirits in Australia is tax.

While small distillers won some relief in last year’s Budget, Mr Holland said it now looked like the Federal Government was “playing a game of smoke and mirrors.”

“We were gratified the Budget last May delivered about $20 million in much-needed relief to our industry by increasing the craft distiller remission scheme limit from $100,000 to $350,000 per year,” Mr Holland said.

“But now this latest tax increase, combined with another rise in August 2021, will effectively rake back more than five times that amount, about $100 million in revenue, this financial year. It looks like the government is giving with one hand while taking with the other.”

A joint campaign by Spirits and Cocktails Australia and the Australian Distillers Association has called on the Federal Government to freeze the excise increases for at least three years and align the spirits tax rate with the brandy rate to give the industry a chance to consolidate and recover from the devastating impact of the pandemic.

With the cost of doing business its highest in recent memory, Mr Holland said the tax changes would ease the inflationary pressure on spirits producers and hospitality, and provide the conditions to drive investment and job creation to fuel the industry’s recovery.

Australian Distillers Association chief executive Paul McLeay said Australia’s unfair spirits tax was a handbrake on an industry that could otherwise be booming as Australian wine did in the 1980s and 90s.

“We know the growth of distilling in Australia will deliver benefits from farm to glass,” Mr McLeay said.

“Most of our distillers are based in rural and regional areas and many of them could be employing more staff, buying more local produce, exporting more quality Australian products and attracting more tourists to their regions.

“On top of all of the challenges COVID has thrown at the hospitality industry, a fourth tax hike in two years feels like a kick in the guts.”

A TAX hike imposed today on the distilling industry is a “kick in the guts” to businesses already struggling with the impact of COVID lockdowns.

The excise hike of 1.4% announced by the Australian Tax Office is the 19th in a decade for distillers in Australia, who already pay the third highest spirits tax in the world.

The tax blows out further every six months, because of indexation to the CPI. The automatic increases mean the Federal Government’s average tax take from the distilling industry, which includes the manufacturing of premixed spirits, increases by $100 million – $120 million every year.

“This is a never-ending tax with an ever-increasing appetite,” Spirits and Cocktails chief executive Greg Holland said.

“It has always been a handbrake on the growth of businesses that could otherwise be employing more staff, buying more local produce, exporting quality Australian products, and attracting more tourists to local communities.

“But with COVID, this latest tax hike feels particularly savage. It’s a kick in the guts to the many distillers and manufacturers, pubs, bars and restaurants who are struggling in the face of repeated lockdowns and a decline in tourism.”

A joint campaign by Spirits and Cocktails Australia and the Australian Distillers Association has called on the Federal Government to freeze the excise increases for at least three years to give the industry a chance to consolidate and recover from the devastating impact of rolling COVID lockdowns.

“But after some very welcome relief in the Federal Budget, where the government increased the excise cap for small distillers from $100,000 to $350,000, the return to automatic excise hikes looks like Canberra giving with one hand and taking with the other,” Mr Holland said.

“The Budget’s increase in the excise cap was worth about $20 million for the industry. But today’s hike could drag up to five times that amount back in tax.”

Having the third highest spirits tax in the world, exacerbated by automatic increases twice a year, has created a situation in Australia where up to 60% of the retail price of an average 700ml bottle of spirits is now tax.

“That is an outrageous burden, imposed by the Federal Government, on a sector that could otherwise be replicating the growth of the Australian wine sector.”

The Australian spirits industry welcomes the Morrison Government’s announcement overnight of a $2.6 million grant to explore the potential of Blockchain technology to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the food and beverage sector.

The grant is funded under the Australian Government’s Digital Business package, which was announced in the Federal Budget 2020-21, and aligns with the Government’s National Blockchain Roadmap, which was released in February 2020.

The Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Christian Porter MP confirmed the ‘Convergence’ consortium would receive $2.6 million to pilot a program to leverage blockchain technology to automate key reporting processes under the excise system to reduce compliance costs associated with the creation, storage and transportation of Australian spirits. The Convergence consortium comprises leading tax specialists from KPMG Australia, and digital transformation and blockchain experts Converge.tech.

Spirits and Cocktails Australia Chief Executive Greg Holland said:

“This grant provides a great opportunity for the spirits industry to be at the forefront of testing the viability of Blockchain to solve the challenges associated with excise payment processes and compliance. The project offers the potential form the foundations of new regulations and policies which can transform the food and beverage industry.”

Australian Distillers Association Industry & Government Engagement lead Paul McLeay said:

“The ADA looks forward to collaborating with Convergence to contribute subject matter expertise to the project and support the research and adoption of the product through our members. We are proud to partner with Convergence.Tech and KPMG who have the technical blockchain skills and excise taxation expertise to successfully deliver this pilot.”

Alcohol Beverages Australia Chief Executive Andrew Wilsmore also welcomed the announcement:

“This project offers a unique opportunity to deliver on the goals outlined in Alcohol Beverage Australia’s Vision for Industry 2030 to gauge the effectiveness of Blockchain technology to meet the demands of modern manufacturing in the digital age. We look forward to seeing the results of the pilot to understand the potential benefits for the broader alcohol industry.”

The Australian Distillers Association and Spirits and Cocktails Australia applaud the Morrison Government’s decision to increase the excise refund cap for small distillers and brewers from $100,000 to $350,000 per year as part of the 2021-22 Federal Budget.

This initiative will deliver much needed assistance to more than 300 craft distillers, most of whom are based in rural and regional areas, and also represents a promising first step towards unleashing the potential of the Australian spirits industry.

Australian Distillers Association president Stu Gregor said: 

“This decision provides much needed relief for hundreds of craft distillers around the country that were severely impacted by COVID-19. It means craft distillers will have more capital available to help their businesses grow and to employ more locals – bringing important economic benefits through job creation, expanding farm production, regional tourism and hospitality for our communities.

“We have great ambitions to grow Australia’s world-class distilling industry and this is a great first step that will help the industry to grow.”

Spirits and Cocktails Australia chief executive Greg Holland said:

“The best alcohol tax system is a fair one, so we thank the Government for bringing the tax incentives offered to small distillers and brewers into line with those offered to small wine makers.

“However, we note that Australia’s alcohol tax regime remains fundamentally flawed and unfair, imposing a spirits tax that is already ten times higher than the US rate, and 68% higher than New Zealand’s, with further increases every six months.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Government toward a fairer and more sustainable spirits tax regime – one that aligns spirits tax rates with brandy, and freezes CPI increases – to create jobs, investment and export opportunities in a burgeoning Australian industry.”