OUR STORY
When Cameron Syme set up Great Southern Distilling Company in 2004, he had one goal – to make the best spirits in the world.
Today, Cameron has established and owns 3 distilleries, two under the Great Southern Distilling Co, banner and one distillery operates under Margaret River Distilling Co. In these distilleries Cameron has been producing award-winning Australian Whisky and Gin for over 15 years.
The Great Southern Distilling Company has distilleries in Albany and Porongurup, in Western Australia’s Great Southern Region. The Albany distillery produces the internationally acclaimed and multi-award winning Limeburners Single Malt Whisky. The Porongurup distillery makes Tiger Snake Sour Mash Whiskey, Dugite Whiskey, Brandy and Rum. The leading Australian gin brand of Giniversity is made at the Margaret River Distilling Company, which Cameron opened in 2015.
Almost two decades on from the day Cameron distilled his first Gin and Limeburners Single Malt, each of these three distillery sites are their own “centre of excellence”, specialising in specific spirits.
World leading whisky critic Jim Murray has recognised us as one of the World’s great distilleries, and a number of international trophies also acknowledge that we have achieved Cameron’s goal of producing some of the World’s best whisky and spirits.
Cameron has proven he has one of the World’s most discerning palates and has developed an enviable record as one of the World’s leading Craft Distillers.
So what do we do differently?
Having grown up on a barley farm in Buntine, in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia, Cameron understood that Albany boasted the ideal elements for distilling.
So he decided to build a distillery on the edge of Princess Royal Harbour and produce the State’s first legal whisky, using only the best local ingredients.
“For our Whisky, we use the local Albany water, we source grain from the Great Southern region, and hand collect our peat from the Valley of the Giants,” says Cameron.
“Just like with our Whisky, we make the most of what the Margaret River region has to offer and when it comes to producing truly World Class Gin.”
Another key ingredient to the art of distilling is time. And for Great Southern Distilling Company, our ethos is, “the whisky is ready only when it’s ready”. We don’t believe in working to age statements. Instead we believe in taking the time and consideration to meticulously inspect the whisky until Cameron feels it’s at its absolute best. Fuelled by the guiding principle, “In the pursuit of excellence”, Cameron is honoured to have been recognised with a multitude of awards over the years, including:
2017 – American Distillers Institute, Best International Craft Whisky in the World
2018 – Named by Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, the Best Whisky in the Southern Hemisphere
2019 – UK Whisky Magazine Icons of Whisky, Australian Distiller of the Year
2020 – American Distillers Institute, Best International Craft Whisky in the World