New Zealand Whisky

"We figured if it didn’t sell, we’d drink it ourselves"

- Mat Thomson, Thomson Whisky

Some of our favourite NZ whiskies

Many New Zealand distilleries focus on small-batch, handcrafted production methods, emphasising quality over quantity. Some experiment with unique cask types and maturation techniques, contributing to the diversity of their whisky offerings. 

Click each bottle to explore more.

Thomson Whisky

Thomson Whisky started as a side project in Auckland in 2009. It began as an independent bottler, carefully selecting old-stock New Zealand whisky from the Willowbank Distillery, Dunedin. The aim was to bring out some beautiful old liquid, bottle whiskies that New Zealanders could be proud of, and to share their whisky journey with anyone who liked the good spirit.

Today, Thomson Whisky create premium craft whiskies and gins, using traditional methods for contemporary ends. With two hand-beaten copper pot stills and two gin stills in operation, their distillery hums with all natural ingredients, elbow grease and the centuries old process of spirits distillation. It’s about a passion for the spirit, people and climate, and a total respect for the process.

Thomson Whiskies are made using just three ingredients: water, yeast and malted barley. They’re aged in a range of casks, including ex-bourbon barrels, New Zealand wine casks and some miniatures. Their smoke comes from native Manuka wood and South Island Peat. Their gins use fresh botanicals and they're heavy handed on the juniper, resulting in weighty, flavourful spirits.

Pokeno Whisky

The New Zealand spirit is forged through a unique marriage of culture and climate. It's an intangible phenomenon that produces tangible greatness and enables Kiwis to fearlessly punch above their weight on a global stage. And it's this spirit that inspires us to experiment with flavour to create world-class- but distinctively different - single malts.

There is no compromise in anything we do, and I would like to thank you for joining us on this journey of discovery, not just of our whisky, but of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Cardrona Distillery

The family-owned artisan Cardrona Single Malt Distillery sits high in the Cardrona Valley between Wanaka and Queenstown. The driving force behind the enterprise is Desiree Whitaker: 'Our spirits are made from scratch by traditional handcrafted methods, using only three ingredients: malted Scottish two-row barley, pure alpine water and yeast. The whisky distillation is conducted in a large, hand-beaten copper pot crafted by renowned Scottish whisky family, the Forsyths. Following the various stages of production and distillation, the whisky will be aged in oak casks for ten years.'

The Cardrona Single Malt Whisky, award winning progress reports of our natural, cask strength celebration of five years in oak. Includes Growing Wings Solera, a marriage of select ex-Oloroso Sherry butts and ex-bourbon barrels brought together. Single cask releases are limited throughout the year.

Waiheke Whisky

Waiheke Whisky began as a dream long before The Waiheke Island Distillery was officially established in 2010. Founders Mark and Ro Izzard together with friends set out to make a distinctly New Zealand Single Malt Whisky, using New Zealand grown barley, New Zealand peat and some good old fashioned Kiwi ingenuity. Years prior Mark and friend Richard Evatt, started out making alcohol with sugar wash from honey frames (Richard is a bee keeper). This progressed to making small volumes of wash using NZ grain and then to distilling. Tony Denny, with great experience in malting, brewing and wort production helped the team learn how to mash properly and get some consistent processes in place.

Through a partnership with Canterbury-based Gladfield malt, Waiheke Whisky has pushed the limits of heavily peated malt in New Zealand, using peat from Tussock Creek in Southland. Both American and European oak cask are used for maturing the spirit on the island, which come from distilleries and wineries both overseas and close to home.

The New Zealand Whisky Collective

In 1997 the last whisky distillery in New Zealand was closed down and the hundreds of barrels of Cask Strength whisky was auctioned off or mothballed.

In 2010, we bought the last 80,000 litres in 443 barrels from what had previously been stored in an old airplane hangar. The whisky now resides in the towering seaside bonds store in Oamaru. These are exceptionally rare drams from what was once the world’s southern-most distillery.We wanted to see the Whisky industry flourish around the country again and our goal has always been to re-start distilling in Dunedin.

That dream has finally come true, with our very own distillery, which was installed at Speight’s Brewery in Dunedin. Our new distillery has been producing beautiful new-make spirit since February 2021.

Whisky Pairs Perfectly with