POKENO NEW ZEALAND SINGLE MALT WHISKY
NEW ZEALAND
Why Buy: When a distillery enters the world spirits conversation with authority — two Double-Gold 97-point winners at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, including a Best in Show award— we take notice. But it's how Pōkeno achieved these accolades that captured our imagination — by hewing to the timeless truths of craft and terroir, while pushing into fascinating new territory.
Specs: The foundation of these single malts: pure volcanic spring water, extraordinarily long 80-hour fermentations, meticulous batch production, a dedication to slow distillation that prioritizes flavor over volume, and slow, tropical aging.
Our Tasting Notes: Maybe the most fascinating thing about these whiskies is the way they balance tradition with a distinctly New Zealand character, and the intricacy, intensity, and maturity they manage to achieve.
* The Triple Distilled showcases the rewards of patience —it passed through the stills not once, not twice, but three times, and each time only the purest heart cut (about 20% of each run) was selected. The resulting clarity is impressive, as is the depth — rich honey and vanilla notes that evolve into butterscotch and citrus, with subtle pepper and clove adding complexity to a nice long finish.
* The Winter Malt reveals even bolder innovation. Using four specific malts — including the world's only manuka-smoked variant and a specially roasted chocolate malt — it creates a profile of great richness and roundness, with sweet honey and subtle smoke weaving through dark chocolate and creamy fudge notes. The warm subtropical climate accelerates aging and concentration, leading to a remarkable complexity for such a relatively young whisky.
The Story: Tucked into a misty valley sheltered by volcanic hills, Pōkeno draws its pure spring water from the same formations that protect it. Founded in 2017 with the ambitious goal of putting New Zealand on the single malt map, the distillery has built something remarkable: a fully self-contained facility including its own cooperage (the country's first), maturation warehouses, and bottling line. They source barley from family farms in the fertile South Island, embracing New Zealand's terroir at every step. The warm climate forces them to work differently than their Scottish counterparts — they lose up to 9% annually to the "angels' share," making extended aging impossible. But this same climate intensifies flavor development, creating spirits of exceptional body and character.
ABV: Triple Distilled, 49% ABV (98 proof); the Winter Malt, 48% ABV (96 proof).
Fun Fact: Until recently, New Zealand had no cooperages of its own — all barrels were imported. Enter Pōkeno, which built its own. It also recruited Scottish cooper Mike Tawse to run it. He’s the only trained cooper in the country.
Our Guarantee: Remember, friends — we always buy and source directly from the distiller, so you can rest assured that your spirits will arrive in your hands with pristine provenance.