Five Illawarra bars to grab a drink on World Whisky Day

It was founded in 2012 by Blair Bowman, and falls on the third Saturday of May every year.

Here's a few ideas of where to "try a dram and celebrate the water of life" (as the official website has it) and have your own celebration of the drink somewhere in the Illawarra.

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Since 2017, the Howlin' Wolf has been offering an array of single malts in their dimly lit space, nestled in an alley off Crown Street in the heart of Wollongong.

This bar has the ultimate selection of whisky, and possibly the largest in the 'Gong, with more than 350 to choose from.

"Be it ... a Pappy Van Winkle Old Fashioned, a tin of Tooheys Red or a Fireball Booze n Juice, no matter what your tastes we've got you covered," their website states.

The venue has also recently added a few more leather booths to increase their seating capacity.

They're open every day of the week from 4pm.

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These four mates began distilling in 2015, initially a spirit to make whisky, but they needed to wait for it to age.

So along came Seacliff Vodka and a range of gins, then finally in 2020 they were able to release their first single malt whisky.

"The Grain to Glass philosophy is core to Headlands' products, every step of the production process is done from scratch, from milling the grain, mashing, fermentation, distilling, filtering, bottling and labelling," their website states.

"The locally grown barley is brought fresh from the paddock, directly to the distillery in Wollongong where we mill, ferment, distil and bottle our handcrafted spirits."

Their distillery doors are open from 4pm to 6pm on Fridays or 12pm to 4pm on Sundays.

They offer free tours to show you the equipment in action, chat about fermentation and distillation and have samples at their tasting bar.

Find them at 12/6-8 Ralph Black Drive in North Wollongong.

Okay, so this one is a little further south in Nowra, but Tara was the Shoalhaven's first craft distillery with hand crafted gin, vodka, and of course whisky.

"Produced in copper pot stills, using only the finest local ingredients and pure harvested Shoalhaven rainwater," their website states.

For $5 you can book a behind-the-scenes tasting and tour on a Saturday, and experience an in-depth taste of three of their beautiful spirits.

They're found at 112 Tea Tree Lane at Nowra Hill.

This restaurant with a cocktail bar is found at the lower end of Crown Street in Wollongong and has a drinks menu to be reckoned with.

Amidst the smorgasbord of different spirits on hand, the establishment has at least 14 different whiskys to wet your whistle with.

Head into the venue to see what cocktails they can conjure up.

Find them at 110 - 114 Crown Street in Wollongong.

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If you want to learn all there is to know about the perfect whisky cocktail, step inside this Wollongong escape room and head to the bar.

There's a selection of whiskys available along with the option for a "bespoke cocktail". Want something that tastes like summer? They can do it.

The Breakout Bar also takes bookings for their "whisky masterclasses", where one of their mixologists spills all their secrets inside the Cocktail Lab.

"Our expert mixologists will always deliver an unforgettable experience and have you leaving with a smile on your face," they posted on social media.

Cocktail classes are $69 per person, while the whisky masterclass is at $99 per person - contact them for booking details.

They're open Thursday to Sunday and found almost hidden down Crown Lane in Wollongong.

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