Whisky Bars & Gin Joints: Melbourne Walking Tour

About this tour

Walk through Melbourne's boozy backstory on this 2.5-hour tour linking colonial smuggling tales to today's craft spirit scene. You'll visit three standout bars—a heritage cottage once used for illicit grog, the city's original whisky haunt, and a secretive distillery—sampling three drinks at each stop. A guide steers you through prohibition-era yarns and distilling bans whilst you taste everything from peaty single malts to London Dry gins.

Highlights

• Heritage brick cottage with bootleg grog smuggling history
• Melbourne's first dedicated whisky bar, Scottish malts focus
• Hidden distillery bar with craft spirits selection
• Prohibition and sly grog shop stories woven throughout
• Nine spirit tastings across three venues
• Exclusive bar map and tour photos included
• Starts at State Parliament, compact walking route

What to expect

Expect a narrative-led walk rather than a booze crawl. Your guide weaves shipwreck tales, bootlegger anecdotes and distilling bans into the route, grounding each bar in its own slice of Melbourne's spirit-making past. You'll taste nine drinks total—three per venue—giving genuine flavour variety without heavy consumption. The walk covers manageable ground between Parliament and the bars; mostly flat, urban pavements. Conversation flows between stops and within each bar, so expect to chat with your guide and other participants.

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