Disguise, capture and surrender.
In the 1890’s, Tom Delaney, became the most
notorious distiller in the Timboon district. Delaney was
known to police, with records showing Delaney’s
interest in whisky as far back as 1881. But whisky
making flourished mainly between 1890 and 1893.
At the peak of production, Tom Delaney is said to
have made 100 gallons a week. It was labelled
"Mountain Dew" and they cheekily put the official
Government stamp on it. The whisky was described
by a local as "smooth as new milk", with other reports
confirming it was of a high quality.

The Government finally decided to stamp out the
practice. The man chosen to round up the notorious
Nirranda Distillers was Detective Inspector Christie,
champion boxer, champion sculler of Victoria, and one
time personal bodyguard of H.R.H. Prince Alfred.
Christie was a master of disguise and posing as a
travelling tinker, he embarked on the task of catching
Tom Delaney and his associate, Jim Love.
The story continued with twists and turns, shots
were fired, the distillers escaped, but not for long
and soon enough, illicit whisky distilling in the area
came to an end.

Bottles of Mountain Dew still turned up for years to
come, the reputation of the whisky increased and the
story of the Nirranda Distillers became a proud part of
local folklore. At the Timboon Railway Shed Distillery,
we have been inspired by the local history, to make
Timboon famous once again for its high quality
whisky, and this time all above board.

Call in to "The Shed" and do some detective work of
your own, investigate our whisky and spirits, cross
examine our distiller and learn a bit more about the
colourful history.