Direct from our 2023 restaurant guide, here’s our guide to the state’s finest distilleries
Whether it’s for a tasting and a tour or the chance to blend a custom batch and settle in for a long lunch, nothing beats heading straight to the source. Top-shelf spirits are almost always within arm’s reach in WA, with a wealth of world-class distilleries spread across the state. Here are the best in the West.
When it comes to whisky, Whipper Snapper Distillery sets the bar high with in-depth tours and masterclasses that showcase its expansive range. The Limeburners label, meanwhile, is no stranger to awards the world over, and you can taste why first hand at Great Southern Distilling Company’s Albany outpost.
More of a rum drinker? Pay a visit to Springfield’s Illegal Tender Rum Co for a walk through and taste of the prized Distillers’ Cut, or head to the Swan Valley’s Great Northern Distillery, where the Kimberley Rum Company produces the one and only Canefire. For a more off-piste escape – and a slice of famed Ord River rum cake – venture to the Kimberley’s Hoochery Distillery, the site of the oldest continuously operating still in the state.
As for the gin side of things, Margaret River Distilling Company’s Giniversity campus is a picturesque place to immerse yourself in the grain-to-glass process, surrounded by peppermint trees. Up north in Broome, monsoonal rainwater and native botanicals find their way into the flagship expressions at Moontide Distillery.
Back in the big smoke, Fremantle is home to both the bustling Running with Thieves and, WA Good Food Guide’s 2023 Bar of the Year, Republic of Fremantle, with the teensy Wandering Distillery in nearby O’Connor. There’s action aplenty in the Swan Valley, too, where Sin Gin and Swan Valley Gin Company continue to kick goals and Rohan Park’s cooking is turning heads at Old Young’s Distillery.