Whisky was legally distilled in Tasmania two years before it was in Scotland, yet the home-grown industry lay dormant for more than 150 years after Governor John Franklin declared distilling illegal in 1839. His wife, Lady Jane, reportedly said she would "prefer barley be fed to pigs than it used to turn men into swine."
The ban only eased in 1901 when national distilling laws passed, but small-scale producers remained illegal until 1992. That changed after a campaign by Hobart-based land surveyor and pub owner Bill Lark, who is now regarded as Tasmania's whisky godfather.
"The idea to make whisky came from a realisation that Tasmania must have had good barley because our local beers were being exported all over the world at the time and we knew our water was probably some of the best water in the world," Mr Lark told 7.30. He and his wife Lynn founded Lark Distillery, releasing their first batch of Tasmanian whisky in December 1998.
Now a global whisky downturn is hitting distillers across the world. Industry giants are bearing the brunt, pausing production and laying off staff as customers leave bottles on the shelves. The downturn represents the biggest challenge for Tasmania's whisky businesses since the state was governed by colonial law.
Tasmania is home to a third of Australia's whisky distilleries. While the old-fashioned boom-and-bust cycle is familiar for most distillers, the state's producers are still seizing what one industry figure called "amazing opportunities" amid the gloom.