Limeburners

Limeburners was the first Western Australian distillery to legally make single malt whisky. Our story begins with our Founder, Cameron Syme.

“When considering starting up a distillery the first question you are asked is ‘are you crazy enough to do it’?”
Growing up in Buntine, a small town in Western Australia’s north-east wheat belt, Cameron enjoyed hearing stories of distant relatives in Scotland who gave up the whereabouts of their own illegal distillery to use the reward money to start a new one. Whether it was the romance of those stories or simply a love of Whisky the idea was planted to start his own distillery one day – although it would take 16 years before the dream would became reality.

After returning to Australia and becoming a lawyer, Cameron worked for top tier commercial law firm in Melbourne and Perth and then in-house for a major oil company. It was on completion of one particular oil and gas deal when Cameron realised he wanted a different challenge. He took time to travel through the UK researching Scottish distilleries, honing his knowledge and gaining an appreciation for the style of single malt whisky he preferred. Then he booked a ticket to Tasmania and went to see Bill Lark, who is widely considered ‘The Grandfather’ of Australian Whisky distilling. Bill was generous with his knowledge and experience and supportive of Cameron starting up a distillery.

When considering starting up a distillery the first question you are asked is “are you crazy enough to do it?” – you need all the support you can get. In 2004, Cameron obtained a UK Trades Board “General Certificate of Distilling” now it was time for him to put all the knowledge he had gained from 16 years of research into practice.

In 2004 after 14 years of research, the Great Southern Distilling Company was founded and commenced commercial production in 2005. Located on the edge of Princess Royal Harbour, the distillery takes advantage of Albany’s pristine water, clean air, abundance of local produce and cool marine climate.

In May 2008, the first flagship ‘Limeburners’ Single Malt Whisky was released. Not only was this recorded as an historic event because it was the first Single Malt Whisky ever distilled in Western Australia, but it also picked up a Bronze Medal at the prestigious International Wine & Spirits Competition in London. After selling out within the month, the distillery knew it was getting things right.

Now, with the distillery celebrating its twelfth year, production has more than doubled and demand is outstripping productivity. Winning the Business of the Year at the 2013 Regional Small Business Awards was a huge success and in 2015 taking out the Telstra Western Australian Business Awards for the WA Regional Business category shows that the team is leading business in the region.

The whisky has proven itself time and again with such achievements as Australian’s Champion Whisky in 2015 and 2016 for its Heavily Peated Single Malt Whisky and being named Champion Australian Distiller at the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards this year.

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The distillery’s Tiger Snake Australian Whiskey was name Best Australian Blended Whiskey at the World Whiskies Awards in 2016. Requests and enquiries about the product are fielded every day.

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International recognition comes from Limeburners success at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London including this year’s medal haul of a Silver Oustanding, Silver and Bronze Medal.

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The cellar door frequently sells out of product before even realizing stock levels are low, thanks to the continual success in national and international competition.

Cameron decided to expand his distilling vision to a booming WA tourist destination in November 2015. The Limeburners Margaret River distillery follows the success of the flagship brand Limeburners from the Great southern Distilling Company in Albany with a goal to become another pioneer in the distilling industry.