Tradition
Just like those who came before us, we’ve always worked with our hands. We’ve built, crafted, fixed, stitched and baked. It was a natural choice to make every element of our whisky by hand and in house. Every decision of every process is guided by watching, touching, tasting and smelling.
Making our artisan whisky
To make exceptional whisky you need to use the purest, softest water. Montville is built on volcanic rock which formed perched aquifers high above sea level. Sourced from an aquifer on our own property, our beautiful water is some of the purest and softest in the world.
We mill the finest Australian Signature malted barley and have a long fermentation to achieve a more complex flavour in our wash. The aroma of toasted banana bread fills the distillery for days after and invokes a sense of satisfaction, a knowing that another batch of whisky is in the making.
Twice distilled in our custom-made copper pot still using only a naturally slow and time-honoured method completes the making of our spirit.
Finally, our spirit begins a slow, gentle maturation in hand selected casks of the finest oak to become artisan Single Malt Whisky.
There’s no rushing at any stage of our whisky making, everything happens naturally, just as it should.
Making a whisky distillery
Just like my father and grandfather, I am a tradesman at my core. I am an industrial electrician and a builder. I have worked on small historical houses in East Melbourne with my dad and million acre cattle stations in the Sturt Stony Desert. We’ve worked in many outback towns around Australia before building our distillery in Montville.
It took lots of meticulous planning, creative juggling and hard work to turn a run-down old building into a distillery. Filled with copper pipes, electrical cables and stainless steel there were many times when we would ask ourselves “what would Nonno and Dad be advising us to do right now?”.
We are very proud of the work we have done in building our distillery and it has been said that we have one of the best micro distilleries in Australia.
Making a ‘whisky-making’ team
In the early 1900s Think & Grow Rich author Napoleon Hill described the powerful force of an invisible ‘mastermind’ when two or more likeminded people come together to work towards a definite purpose.
With this in mind we knew that to make a distillery and a whisky we can be proud of, we needed to engage a ‘mastermind’.
Dean Jackson from Tasmania is one of the best whisky makers in the Australian whisky industry and we are grateful to call him our mentor, trainer and friend.
Through his meticulous training, his wealth of information and ongoing advice, Dean gave us the skills & confidence to make the finest of whiskies right here in Montville.
Jason Schmeider belongs to the legendary Schmeider family of coopers. He uses traditional coopering methods and his exceptional craftmanship to create all of our casks.
It’s an amazing experience to walk through our bond store and admire Jason’s works of art.
Engineers and manufacturers from across Australia and local craftsmen have all been instrumental in creating our bespoke distillery.
Dean Jackson
Jason Schmeider
