If you follow the Australian whisky industry and tune into its various channels, there’s a strong chance you’ve heard of Backwoods Distilling. There’s even a good chance you’ve possibly tasted Backwoods Distilling’s whiskies. And if you haven’t tasted or sought out Backwoods – then you owe it to yourself to check it out.
Backwoods is one of the many Australian distilleries that was founded in the “gold rush” of distilleries being established in the years following the big Sullivans Cove award of 2014. It joins one of the many – very many – Australian whisky distilleries that are run by a husband-and-wife duo. They make good whisky and it’s a good story, so let’s tell that story….
Backwoods was established in 2017 by Bree and Leigh Attwood. One on the growing list of Victorian whisky distilleries, the distillery is located in Yackandandah, in the heart of Victoria’s bush country, i.e. the backwoods!
If you’ve read Whisky & Wisdom’s many articles on Australian whisky and the profile pieces on Australian whisky distilleries, you’ll have noted a theme or consistent narrative that emerges when you tell the story of a new Australian distillery’s start-up, growth, and development. The steps and processes are invariably similar; they typically involve the distilleries starting with a template and system they’re emulating from the early Tasmanian distilleries; they fill their spirit into lots of different wood and cask types, and – more often than not – they fill into small format casks. As their early distillations mature and come of age, the next few years are spent discovering the outcomes of choices made in the early days. Through admirable trial and error they learn how their local micro-climate impacts their maturation, they learn which cask sizes and wood types work best with their spirit, (e.g. American oak versus French oak, ex-bourbon barrels versus ex-Australian wine casks or ex-fortified casks) and they learn how and which levers to pull to produce the kind of whisky they want to make.
These learning processes are the same for every new distillery across the globe. However, the Australian industry can often amplify the learning arc, sometimes just purely because of geography and the huge diversity of climates across our large country. Such diversity is narrow in, say, Scotland, where the maturation environment of Ben Nevis in the west is not all that significantly different to Glencadam in the east. However, in Australia, there’s a reason why Limeburners in the west matures differently to Bakery Hill in the east; why Overeem in the south matures differently to Archie Rose in the north. The differences are even more stark between the coastal distilleries that enjoy humidity (e.g. Cape Byron) and the inland distilleries that are much drier in climate (e.g. Aisling in Griffith).
Backwoods has thus had to navigate and clear these learning hurdles, and the result is that they’re doing things a little differently now to how they were doing them when they first set out. The results are evident in the whiskies, which are increasingly winning plaudits, acclaim, and awards. So…..let’s look at the Backwoods story….
Backwoods’ foundations
Leigh and Bree both grew up in Myrtleford, Victoria – roughly 30 minutes from Yackandandah – although they didn’t meet until 1998 after they’d each left school. Overseas travel saw them spend time in London and Toronto before returning to Melbourne in 2007, and then moving back to rural north-east Victoria in 2016.
With established careers as a high school teacher (Leigh) and in marketing and communications (Bree), the transition to distilling was born out of an appreciation for Australian spirits and genuine curiosity. Leigh explains….
“For me, whisky shifted from a casual interest to a genuine passion when our kids were very young. We were spending a lot more time at home, and Saturday nights became less about going out and more about enjoying a few different drams and exploring what was in the glass.
I remember staring into a whisky and wondering how something so small could hold so much flavour, depth and complexity. That curiosity sent me down the rabbit hole. I started researching production techniques, fermentation, distillation, maturation and all the little decisions that shape the final spirit.”
For Bree, the link was more patriotic and personable: “I wasn’t all that into whisky until we discovered Australian whisky. These days, I really enjoy drinking spirits made by people I’ve met. As I’ve got older and I’m drinking less, I value the connection between the drink and the maker. I drink wine made by local winemakers, and whisky and gin made by friends in the industry.”
For Leigh – who handles all the production, i.e. mashing, brewing, and distillation – the journey to distiller plies those classic lines between curiosity, research, and being inspired by others. “My passion for whisky has always been driven more by process and technique than by brands alone. I’m fascinated by how whisky is made — how grain, yeast, copper, oak, time and climate all come together to create something with real character. But it was drams like Black Gate and Belgrove Rye that really hooked us. Black Gate was not peated back then, and Belgrove was unlike anything else I had tasted. Those whiskies helped me see Australian whisky not just as a curiosity, but as something genuinely exciting and world-class.”
Start the mash and fire up the stills
And was there an “aha” moment? What lit the fire that encouraged them to become distillers? Bree explains, “Yes, there was such a moment! We were reading the Sunday paper one morning in 2014 and there was an article about Victoria’s High Country and its climate being well suited to whisky maturation. At the time, we’d already been thinking seriously about leaving the city behind and returning to our roots in Victoria’s north-east. The article was a bit of a lightning-bolt moment and sowed the seeds for us.”
Of course, you don’t just wake up one morning and start distilling. There is an arc and a journey just to get to square one. There’s the big financial investment up front with all the necessary kit, and also simply acquiring the requisite knowledge. To that end, Leigh enrolled with the CIBD and studied brewing and distilling to establish the technical foundation. Bree elaborates, “Of course, knowledge without experience is its own challenge. That gap was helped enormously by the generosity of a local brewery, which allowed Leigh to get hands-on experience helping with their brews. That practical experience was invaluable, especially in the early days when we were trying to turn theory into something real.”
The Attwoods were also fortunate in that their local council allowed them to begin distilling in the shed at their five acre property. Not having to rent a separate production space gave them the kickstart they needed and made the whole idea feel just that little bit more possible.
Getting out of first gear
One of the toughest challenges for Australian distilleries — particularly for the many who started between 2017–2021, when everyone’s spirit was reaching maturity around the same time — is getting your product and brand noticed. I asked Leigh and Bree what their early routes to market were, and how they tackled marketing in the early days?
“We officially kicked off production in 2017,” explains Bree, “and, back then, it was really just about sharing our story on socials. We launched a Founders’ Club with 250 places, which was essentially a pre-order for our first release. It took about six months to fill the club, but it gave us some early cash flow to help buy grain and barrels. In 2020 we released our first whiskies — a rye and a single malt together, as we thought having a single malt would help introduce people to the rye.”
(As an aside – at the time of writing, Backwood’s production is roughly 60% single malt and 40% rye).
Bree continues, “With the support of Whisky and Alement, we launched the whiskies virtually in August 2020 and sold out of both within a couple of days. Then we had no whisky again for a few months — that was pretty much how the first six months went! We’d release single casks that would sell out quickly through our mailing list and socials, which we’d spent the first few years building.
Fast forward to now, and we have a core range of whiskies that we’re able to keep consistently stocked, alongside limited releases (usually under 350 bottles) that come out three or four times a year. We sell about 30% via our tasting room, 30-40% online, and the rest through wholesale, distribution, and partnerships.”
Not surprisingly and as you’d expect, they’re both now fully committed and have both been working full-time in the business since 2021. Contemplate that for a moment, particularly in the context of what was happening in the world at that time: Leigh left a career job as a teacher, and Bree left her role at the University of Melbourne when they decided to open the tasting room – right when the COVID pandemic was still killing tourism. A gutsy move in anyone’s language.
Making Australian whisky
If you’re a long-term reader of Whisky & Wisdom’s musings, you might recall our article from 2021 that ruffled a few feathers. Australian Whisky’s Beer Loophole explored the controversial fact that many of Australia’s celebrated whisky distilleries don’t do their own mashing and brewing; they have their wash brewed for them by commercial beer breweries. The flavours we enjoy in our whisky all start with mashing and fermentation, so it’s a key part of production for distilleries looking to tweak and improve their final product. To this end, Leigh has been particularly pro-active, exploring and evolving many aspects of Backwood’s brewing regimen. Grain selection and curating the mash bill is a fundamental cornerstone of Backwood’s identity and philosophy, as Leigh explains…
“I undertook an extensive R&D program using all of Voyager’s available malts. That work helped us identify the flavours, textures and mouthfeel we wanted to build into our spirit from the very beginning. But it’s something we continue to explore. While we have had success with our current mash bill, we are always working to improve it. Recently, for example, we introduced an under-modified pilsner malt into the mash bill because it adds more viscosity, mouthfeel and character to our new make spirit. That philosophy of continuous improvement continues to drive us forward.”
The Australian whisky industry is rife with distilleries who make a fine new-make spirit, only to obliterate it by filling into tannic, wine-dripping, over-active casks that drown out any nuance or complexity in the spirit. It’s not lost on Leigh, who has worked hard to achieve balance:
“Admittedly, showing off a mash bill can be difficult as a start-up distillery, particularly when you are relying heavily on first-fill barrels. It is exciting to be growing up a little and beginning to work with more second and third-fill casks, where our grain selection and mash bills have more room to shine in balance with the barrel. That’s the aim, anyway: spirit with character before the oak, and then matured whisky where the grain, fermentation and cask all have something meaningful to say.”
The cask dilemma
You can’t have a conversation about Australian whisky without discussing cask size. Availability, affordability, and the prospect of a faster maturation drove many of the Australian distilleries that set up between 2014 and 2022 to reach for small format casks, i.e. 100L, 50L, and even 20L casks. Many have since moved away from small format casks after learning – the hard way – that the resulting whisky is often hot, dry, tannic, unbalanced, or all of the above. (Want to know why? Read this article here). It’s all part of the learning process we discussed earlier, and the Attwoods have learned, adjusted, and adapted skillfully over time, as Leigh explains:
“We’ve certainly learned a lot about cask sizes over the years. One of the biggest lessons has been that smaller formats – the smallest we’ve used is 100L – can be incredibly difficult to manage in our environment. They require a lot of care and monitoring. There’s definitely no set and forget with small barrels!
We’ve often had to re-rack whisky to prevent it from becoming over-oaked, and for this reason, we’ve largely moved away from smaller formats. We still have plenty in our fleet, and they can be fantastic as second-fill barrels, but they simply demand too much attention.
We’ve certainly become much better at managing them, largely through constant monitoring and a better understanding of how quickly they can influence the spirit. But ultimately, they’re a pain in the backside and not particularly well suited to our hot summers.”
Fermentation
I’m curious to know what levers Backwoods is pulling to develop their flavours and characteristics during fermentation?
“We work hard to create a fruity profile,” explains Leigh. “To encourage this, we use a high-attenuating Belgian ale yeast, usually associated with saisons, alongside a high-ester distiller’s yeast. We pitch them about eight hours apart. We have found this gives the ale yeast enough time to develop those fruity esters before the distiller’s yeast – which is more of a brutish bully – comes in behind and mops up the remaining fermentable sugars.”
“The yeast fermentation is usually finished by the end of day three. For the remaining time, we encourage a lactobacillus-driven pH drop. As lactic acid builds in the wash and the pH moves from around 4.0 down to roughly 3.7–3.8, it can contribute to ethyl lactate formation during distillation. We find this helps build a softer, rounder texture and contributes to the mouthfeel of the new make spirit.
No matter the mash bill, whether barley or rye, we allow the full seven-day fermentation process. Our fermenters are not sealed, and this is intentional. We want to encourage that lacto influence and build more complexity into the wash before it reaches the still.”
Distillation
Having seen how much effort goes into the fermentation, it shouldn’t surprise that an equal amount of effort and science goes into Backwood’s distillation. Their new make spirit is not merely produced, it is very specifically designed. Leigh elaborates…
“When we first set out, I’d read extensively about where Scottish distillers typically make their cuts, often collecting spirit from around 72% down to 60% ABV. Naturally, this became something of a starting point for me.
Over time, however, I’ve developed a much deeper understanding of my still, our malt and yeast combinations, and, most importantly, where to find the flavours I actually want to capture. I’ve discovered that many of the fruity notes I’m chasing can be found with an earlier first cut, often around 74–75% ABV. Our current cut to feints is around 62% ABV, so we’re generally collecting spirit across that range.
I think there’s also an important relationship between making more deliberate cuts, designing your new make spirit, and improving your approach to cask management.
There’s not much point putting all that effort into producing a particular spirit character if you’re then going to smash it with a heavily active first-fill wine cask for three or four years! All those delicate characteristics you’ve worked so hard to develop can easily disappear beneath the oak and wine influence.
That’s probably been one of our biggest learnings: Understanding that distillation and maturation aren’t separate processes. They need to work together. As we’ve become more deliberate about the spirit we’re producing, we’ve also become more thoughtful about the casks we put it into and how we manage its maturation.”
The local ingredient
Yackandandah sits at 450m above sea level. The annual pattern sees hot, dry summers (occasionally exceeding 40o C) combined with cold winters where frosty mornings below -4o are not uncommon. These conditions create both advantages and challenges for Backwood’s maturation program.
“We stay very active in how we manage our casks,” explains Leigh. “We are not a set-and-forget distillery. We rotate casks regularly to change their rack height, and we re-rack whisky from more active casks into gentler, more subtle casks when needed.”
“The Angels’ Share is typically high, but it can vary. The two most recent summers were unusually humid, and that changed how the casks and evaporation behaved – certainly compared to previous years’ behaviour. Generally speaking, our ABV climbs during maturation, and so we barrel at lower strengths, typically either at 55% or 59%, depending on the barrel type and what it previously contained. Across a maturation period of four to five years, we can lose more than 20% of a cask.”
“Our climate definitely has an impact on the final product”, he continues, “Maturation can be fast, and we know we can produce excellent whisky from a barrel after four years if the casks are managed well in these conditions. Both of our trophy-winning whiskies at the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards were four years old.”
Speaking of awards…
Awards
As we explored in this article here, there are whisky awards and there are Whisky Awards. In a tremendous and admirable endorsement of how good Backwood’s whiskies are – both their single malt and their rye – Backwoods has won numerous awards from the spirits programs that carry weight, gravitas, and respect.
2022 – Trophy for Best Single Malt Whisky at the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards
2024 – Gold and a Category Award for the Rye Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards
2024 – Champion Victorian Distiller at the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards
2025 – Gold Medal for the Rye Whisky Shiraz Barrel at the International Wine & Spirits Competition
2025 – Best Australian Single Malt Whisky Trophy at the Australian International Spirits Awards
But what does Backwoods taste like?
There can’t be too many distilleries that make both a Single Malt and a Rye Whisky and hit the top notes with both. Keen to taste and assess the spirits’ DNA and character across the range, I sat down with a selection of Backwoods’ whiskies and put them through their paces. The executive summary is this: Backwoods is making great whisky. Full flavoured, tasty, and more-ish, they showcase the key feature that makes a good whisky a great whisky: Balance
Backwoods Single Malt, White Oak Barrels, 46% ABV, Batch SMW0B-0124
Nose: Wonderful malted barley notes. Honey. Sweetness. Sweet cereal. Sweetened condensed milk. Then some tropical fruits – pawpaw? On the tail, some clean pencil shavings.
Palate: Sago pudding with some caramel. Barley sugar lollies. Buttered crumpets. Then a hint of sherbet. Very gentle oak influence – it’s wonderfully balanced. I’m so glad this was bottled at 46% – it delivers its weight perfectly.
Finish: Remains sweet, almost like sucking on a barley sugar.
Comments: Wonderfully approachable, balanced, and complex. It’s sweet without being saccharine or cloying. Easy to keep sipping at without the palate getting bored or fatigued.
Backwoods Single Malt, Chardonnay Barrels, 48% ABV
As an aside…significantly more colour than the White Oak release!
Nose: Similar in DNA to the White Oak release, but some accents in the way of fruit jam, fairy floss, and perhaps a savoury note – not unlike vegetable stock? With time in the glass, some other fruit notes emerge, namely mangos and peaches.
Palate: A wee bit drier on the palate, and there’s some mild spices, perhaps even tannins out of the blocks. Yes, the ABV is 2% higher, delivering a little more bite and heat.
Comments: An intriguing dram with pleasant flavours, but the heat was just beginning to stray.
Backwoods Single Malt, Shiraz Barrels, 46%
Nose: Again, similar in DNA to the White Oak release, but definitely some more complexity and depth in the aromas. A hint of eucalyptus (Aussie gum trees?) and some mint, and a very, very soft hint of smokiness? Some light spices also emerge, e.g. cinnamon, and caraway seeds. And, yes, red wine gums.
Palate: Soft and silky mouthfeel, the oak is slightly more forward on this one, introducing hints of toast, sourdough, paperbark, and Arnott’s Milk Arrowroot biscuits. The balancing sweetness comes in the tail, chiefly in the form of dark toffee, ginger snaps, and cola jubes.
Finish: Warming; there’s a pleasant touch of heat and spice that stays on the palate as the flavours slowly retreat.
Comments: Quite complex and a lot going on here; the shiraz casks have injected spice, fruit, and intriguing mix of both savoury and sweet characteristics. Very drinkable.
Backwoods Single Malt, Apera / Red Gum Smoke, 48% ABV
Nose: The red gum smoke leaps out wearing no disguise! Cap gun smoke, incense sticks, liniment, fennel seeds, and peppermint.
Palate: The red gum smoke locks horns with the sweetness of the apera, but the apera doesn’t put up much of a fight. The smoke dominates on the palate, but it has a real mintiness to it, rather than a charcoal or woodfire character.
Finish: Initially, I wasn’t a fan of the palate, feeling it lacked sweetness – but then the sweetness returns on the finish, leaving a very ashy footprint that delivers a sweet/savoury note, not unlike an Ash Brie cheese. The finish is insanely long….that ashy-ness lingers far, far longer than any Ardbeg or Laphroaig!
Comments: Out of the blocks, I wasn’t a fan of this. It’s certainly interesting, and it’s actually well-crafted….but it’s just a flavour profile that’s not my cup of tea, having tried other similar styles from the likes of Archie Rose, etc. However, on repeated sips and visits I started to warm to it a little more. There are several Aussie distilleries going down the smoked and/or Red Gum path; the flavours are certainly bold and new. If this is your jam, I suspect this is good jam. It’s not mine, but that’s not to say it’s not good.
….and what about the ryes?
Bree was kind enough to send two 50ml samples, one being the Rye Whisky White Oak Barrels, the other being the Shiraz Barrels expression. Both are bottled at 46%.
I’ll cut to the chase: The Rye Whisky White Oak Barrels release is a SENSATIONAL rye. And I mean sensational. I love the sweetness – I found absolutely beautiful notes of milk chocolate, honey, and toffee on the palate; and then the finish offers up strong vanilla characteristics with hints of spice, sarsaparilla, peanut brittle; even a touch of fennel and licorice all-sorts. Somehow, Leigh has managed to tame the peppery spice that many people associate with a rye whisky. It’s incredible neat; I imagine it would also make an exceptional Old Fashioned. How good is this rye? Well – I actually scored and rated the Rye Whisky White Oak higher than the Single Malt White Oak! The best review I can give it is this: No sooner had I finished my dram, I went online and bought a bottle direct from the distillery!
The Shiraz Barrels Rye is also good drinking; I found an intriguing menthol note to it. Texturally, it was more syrupy, oily, and mouth-coating. Great finish, also. If the Rye White Oak made a good Old Fashioned, I suspect the Rye Shiraz Barrels would make a bloody good Manhattan!
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Yackandandah is roughly a 3.5 hour drive from Melbourne’s CBD and a short 30 minute drive from Albury/Wodonga. The distillery has a shop/cellar door and is open for tastings and drinks from Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00am – 4:00pm. Go for a wander to the backwoods and check out the Attwoods at the Backwoods.
Cheers,
AD
Sincere thanks to Bree and Leigh for their generosity of time and spirit in answering my many questions. For those that are interested or care about such things, Backwoods did not reach out to Whisky & Wisdom seeking a promo piece or publicity. Rather, W&W bought a bottle of the Single Malt White Oak and subsequently decided there was a story here worth telling.
