Until David Baker decided to make whisky 23 years ago, he had never held a glass of the spirit in his hand or tasted a single malt - fast forward and now he and son Andrew are at the helm of Bakery Hill craft distillery in Bayswater North, Victoria.
Named after the Eureka Stockade and the hill where miners’ meetings were held, this fiercely independent, family-owned Australian craft distillery produces iconic single malts, which stay true to the classic whiskies from the Scottish Highlands.
As Father’s Day approaches on Sunday, September 4 there is no better gift for Dad than Bakery Hill whisky and we are giving you the chance to win a bottle of Classic Single Malt – to enter, click here.
"I was always interested in beer and wine, had qualified in chemistry and was working for a food manufacturer when I decided to use my chemistry in a different area,” David tells AGFG. "I dreamt of establishing a winery but I had left my run too late – they were everywhere in Victoria
.
"While thinking my next move and reading extensively about wine and beer, I was constantly bombarded by the phrase ‘whisky can only be made in Scotland because of the air and water’; along with ‘ if you haven’t got the air and water as they have in Scotland, you can’t do it’.”
David says as a chemist this ‘got up his nose’ – making wine, beer and of course whisky is just a process and a series of reactions – in Australia we make excellent wine and beer, so why not whisky?
Embracing an ethos of maturing whisky longer with no blend produces more interesting and varied organics and rich flavours; in general, the longer the maturation the more interesting the whisky.
"Blending two or more things together produces an average and average is never as good as the best. We want the best whisky for our customers so we don’t mix batches or barrels.”
David says Australian whiskies are popular because they are ‘the new kids on the block’ and achieving something for generations the world was told was impossible.
"Generally Australian distilleries are quite small family establishments, where the focus is on quality not quantity. This I feel makes them quite different to huge overseas operations and also produces a wide range of flavour profiles.”
Establishing the distillery himself and only using his sons to help when things were getting tough on the weekends, David says the thought of having the boys involved was always close to mind.
"I just sat on it until one day I got the faithful phone call from my eldest son Andrew saying he had watched the distillery slowly build and now was in a better position to come on board.
"This was six years ago and the distillery has grown, developed and formed a structure of its own like nothing I have ever seen before. Now in a better size and location, my other son Matthew is jumping into the mix.”
Keep an eye on the Baker family in the next five years as they prepare to move to a new location in Kensington and open their whisky cellar door bar so visitors can enjoy a tour, tasting and even host events and functions.
