November Update
Gin & Moonshine Available
It's been a long hard road to get both the Gin and Moonshine ready for sale but they are now and we've already shipped a fair few orders! Thank you!
The hardest bit of starting a New Zealand distillery isn't the licencing, it's actually sourcing materials you need to either create or bottle your product. There are very few options for local bottles or jars and the import costs are astronomical for small businesses. We could of course pass that cost onto customers but we're doing our best to keep prices as low as possible.
We still have some bottles of both products left for now and it's a great time to get in before Christmas. The next batch of Gin won't be until the new year as we wait on new bottles.
Original Moonshine
Another product that will be entering the lineup soon is our Original Moonshine. This is the clear unadulterated version of the moonshine and it's what we used to make Smokin' Right Rear.
We use sour mashing and a tradition moonshine recipe to make this batch and can't wait to release it. Look for it before Christmas!
Herrick Creek Whisky Updates
Our small barrels of NZ Malt Grain Whisky are quietly resting and we've been taking regular samples to test flavour, smell, and colour. They are coming along absolutely perfectly but still need quite a bit of time. In the meantime, we hope to lay down a couple more small barrels in the new year.
NZ Single Malt Whisky is also in the works as we plan on how to approach this. The Distilled Spirits of Aotearoa group is working towards a definition of what NZ Single Malt can be but with a decision some time in the future, we're going to crack on with the process and work towards filling a full size used-bourbon barrel! We're using a unique mash bill for this and aren't exactly sure what to expect, but we will try nevertheless! Hoping to set up a partnership soon for some help from a local brewery.
Where are we getting that used-bourbon barrel? From our own barrel of sourced USA-made bourbon! That's right - we have a barrel of straight wheated bourbon on it's way to the distillery (it's in NZ as of the this week) and we're going to transfer it all into a used Pinot Noir barrel for finishing. This is going to super unique and will be released early 2021. This will be a sourced product and part of our Explorer's Series.
Stay safe and thanks for the support!