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Release Notes
Distilled in the south island of New Zealand, at the famous Willowbank distillery in Dunedin. It's makers used the finest NZ grown barleys. Snow melt from the Southern Alps, naturally filtered through the Great Moss Swamp in the upper catchment of the Taieri river, provided the water. The casks were all but lost after the distillery was mothballed and then finally closed. The few remaining casks were finally rediscovered procured and are gradually being bottled. This particular bottling was filled in September of 2009 from 1993 American white oak cask #39.
The Bottle
The Bottler: New Zealand Malt Whisky Co.
| Established: 1989 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 14-16 Harbour St, Oamaru 9400, New Zealand |
| → website |
On the east coast of New Zealand"s South Island located on the 45th parallel lies the historic town of Oamaru. It"s here that the New Zealand Malt Whisky Company has established it"s head office in an outstanding, 125 year old, whitestone, character building in Oamaru"s historic harbourside precinct.
Fosters International Limited first acquired the whisky stocks through its acquisition of the Australasian assets of Seagram"s International. Seagram"s had owned and operated New Zealand"s only whisky distillery. The whisky had been maturing in the distillery"s South Island warehouses for a period of between 12 and 20 years. The Willowbank, Dunedin distillery last produced whisky in 1997 and has since been dismantled.
Having secured this treasure trove of ageing whisky, Warren and his wife Debbie then went on to form The New Zealand Malt Whisky Company and proceeded with a series of carefully planned steps to enhance and further mature the stock.
With the invaluable experiences of his years with Mills Reef, Warren also pioneered a wine delivery business exporting New Zealand wines to the international markets, predominantly to Japan.
Warren always had a passion for whisky and starting in 2000, set about acquiring the last remaining commercial stocks of New Zealand produced single malt and blended whiskies from Fosters International Limited.
The principal behind The New Zealand Malt Whisky Company Limited is Warren Preston. Warren is from the Preston family that founded the renowned Mills Reef Winery in Tauranga. Warren was instrumental in its management from inception in 1989. Mills Reef is a fully integrated wine company encompassing grape growing, wine-making and distribution of its wine products. The company has achieved significant critical acclaim for its many award winning wines.
from Milford Whisky (NZMWCo)
The Distillery: Willowbank (Wilson) Distillery
| Established: 1968 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand |
Remaining stocks were eventually secured by the New Zealand Single Malt Whisky Company who have since been bottling the remaining casks. These bottlings are being distributed under the Milford brand which was especially created to showcase this fine, limited edition single malt.
The distillery was eventually taken over by Seagram who replaced the old steel stills with proper copper stills resulting in an improved quality of the spirit. Seagram launched the new, notably peaty, whisky under the name "Lammerlaw" in 1991. However soon after, in 1994, the distillery was mothballed and sold to Fosters Brewing Company who converted it into a brewery.
It was finally closed in 2000 and by 2002 the distilling equipment had been dismantled.
The Willowbank distillery was founded by the Wilson family and later renamed in their honor. Production began in 1968 but the quality was not very very good due to the use of refined steel stills.
from Various Online Resources