THOMSON WHISKY

“Our higher purpose for Thomson Whisky is to see New Zealand succeed on the world stage with a New Zealand style of whisky,” says head distiller Mat Thomson of Thomson Whisky. “If we were doing the business just for the sole benefit of ourselves we wouldn’t have come this far. For us there’s a much higher purpose and it’s sort of building itself with the momentum of people who support it.” The “we” he’s referring to is himself and wife Rachael – the pair initially started as independent bottlers but have transitioned to fully fledged distillers. It was a steep learning curve and a journey they’re still on. “I’d rather see us innovate, stay fresh in our mindset and continue to grow and learn constantly than stagnate,” says Rachael. Their approach to only use New Zealand-grown malted barley and rye and forge their own flavours, rather than replica other people’s styles, is paying dividends with more than five gold medals in the bank at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in the past few years. “[The awards] show that a boutique New Zealand distillery can come out on top in a blind tasting with the world’s sharpest distillers – we’re proud of that,” says Mat. “For me, whisky is more than just a drink. It’s more powerful than that – it’s a culmination of the land and the people and there’s something magical about it.” Having sipped a neat glass of their Manuka Smoke Single Malt, we can definitely attest to that. thomsonwhisky.com