Australia can make whisky exactly like bourbon. It just can't call it that. Here's the reason – and what "bourbon-style" is actually promising you.

This is a list of the Australian whiskies that have beaten the world – winning World's Best titles and global category wins – and of the distilleries that built The Australian whisky industry.

The honest answer isn't greed, or small casks, or hype. It's a tax most drinkers have never heard of – one that rises twice a year, and hits the bottle in your hand harder than almost anywhere on earth.