Victoria makes more craft spirits than any other state, but the story runs far deeper than gin and single malt whisky. For generations, families have carried the spirits of home to Victoria from every corner of the globe - recipes for plum brandy, grappa and arak, passed down at tables from St Albans to Shepparton.

Now, Victorian distillers are bringing those traditions to the bottle: Balkan rakija, Korean soju, Japanese shochu, Greek ouzo, French pastis and more. This is your guide to the most distinctive spirits being made in Victoria right now, and some of the makers behind them.

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The fruit brandies

Rakija and schnapps

Rakija (you'll also see it spelled rakia) is the collective name for the traditional fruit brandies of the Balkans, most commonly plum, grape or pear, poured at weddings and christenings and sipped slowly through long afternoons at the family table. Its Central European cousin is true schnapps: not the sugary liqueur that borrowed the name, but clear, unaged eau de vie where every drop of alcohol comes from fresh fruit, with nothing added. 

Try: Kabina Distillery, Nubilum Distilling, Schnapps Idea Distillery

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Grappa

Italy's famous pomace brandy is distilled from the grape skins, seeds and stems left over from winemaking. Often written off as rough and fiery, good grappa is nothing of the sort — it's complex, aromatic and deeply expressive of its grape variety. With world-class wine regions on its doorstep, Victoria is better placed than almost anywhere outside Italy to make exceptional grappa.

Try: In Good Spirits Distilling, Pietro Gallus Estate, Nubilum Distilling

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The anise family

Ouzo

Greece's national spirit is distilled in copper stills with anise, fennel, coriander, clove and cinnamon: a name so fiercely protected that within Europe only Greece and Cyprus can claim it, though the tradition itself travels well.

Try: Cedar Fox Distillery, Macedon Distillery

Kurdish arak

A potent anise spirit distilled from grapes and infused with botanicals like wild thyme, Kurdish arak is distinct from its better-known Lebanese cousin: deeper and more spiced, with a botanical signature shaped by generations of tradition in the Kurdish highlands.

Try: Bandesh Wine & Spirits

Pastis

France's beloved anise aperitif was born as a stand-in for absinthe after the latter was banned in the early twentieth century. Lighter and sweeter than its notorious ancestor, pastis is made for hot afternoons: diluted with cold water, it turns a delightful cloudy gold and drinks like the south of France in a glass.

Try: Hurdle Creek Distillery, Molly Rose Brewing Co, Wooworra Distilling Co, Echuca Distillery

Absinthe

A high-proof spirit distilled with grand wormwood, green anise and fennel, absinthe was banned across much of the Western world over fears of madness, but the real culprit was always the alcohol content, not the wormwood. A century later, Victoria has become an unlikely home for the green spirit, with five producers working in the category.

Try: Rockwood Brewery & Distillery, Cedar Fox Distilling Co, Little Lon Distilling Co, Marionette, Demoiselle Distillery

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The aperitifs

Vin Amer and kina

France's great bitter aperitifs, reborn in Victorian vineyards. Vin amer, literally "bitter wine", is an aromatised wine built around deep, deliberate bitterness: more intense than vermouth, more wine-led than amaro. Kina (or quinquina) is its gentler sibling, infused with cinchona bark, which is the source of tonic water's quinine bite, and tailor-made for a spritz.

Try: Maidenii, White Possum

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Rice, koji and the spirits of Asia

Makgeolli, cheongju and soju

Makgeolli is one of Korea's oldest drinks: an unfiltered, lightly sparkling rice wine, milky white, gently sweet and tangy with live fermentation. Cheongju is its refined, clear counterpart, sitting somewhere between sake and a dry white wine. And soju, the most consumed spirit on the planet by volume, is Korea's answer to vodka; the traditional version is distilled from rice wine, clean and easy to drink.

Try: Tano Spirits

Shochu

Japan's most consumed spirit is distilled from grains, sweet potato or other base ingredients with the help of koji, the same transformative mould behind miso, soy sauce and sake. Koji is what gives shochu its quiet magic: savoury depth, gentle sweetness and a texture that no Western spirit quite matches. It's endlessly food-friendly, and Victorian producers are proving it thrives a long way from Kyushu.

Try: Reed & Co Distillery, Rockwood Brewery & Distillery, Tano Spirits

And that's before we've even mentioned Hurdle Creek Still's jenever, the oak-aged Dutch ancestor of gin, or Victoria's moonshiners made at Melbourne Moonshine and Swiftcrest Distillery. The best way to understand any of these spirits is at the source. Every maker here pours at its cellar door or stocks Victorian bottle shops — find them all in our distillery directory and plan a visit.