Kinglake Distillery

The pristine Kinglake water on the distillery property has a similar mineral profile to Scottish whisky-making waters. Chantal and Sam credit their water for a large portion of their whisky’s signature flavour.

By Emily Friedel

In July this year, a whisky distillery in Scotland’s Western Highlands became the UK’s first to reach netzero carbon emissions. Hot on the heels of this international first, Kinglake is on track to produce Australia’s first whisky from a certified carbon-neutral distillery by the end of 2021. Kinglake Distillery is now waiting on the Australian Government’s final tick of approval to claim their carbon-neutral title. Add to this the unique aspects of Kinglake’s natural environment that are embedded in the little distillery’s handmade whisky, and you have a very special drop. Their single spirit line, O’Grady’s Stand Single Malt, embodies the Kinglake connection of distillery owner Chantal Daniels and her family. Chantal, a third generation Kinglaker, and her partner, Sam Lowe, are dedicated to doing all they can to care for the landscape that supports their whisky production. “When you see this environment, you think, ‘We’ve got to protect this’. Even though it’s just a small part, but every part you try to protect is at least one part that’s getting better. Every bit helps,” Chantal says. Getting government carbon-neutral certification is an onerous task. Carbon output since the business’ inception must be documented and any net emissions offset. This is a difficult process for a distillery – making spirits is very energy-intensive. So while Chantal says they’re a way off being fully sustainable, offsetting greenhouse gas emissions through the government program is a good start. And true sustainability is something they will keep working towards. “Because making whisky is such an energy-sapping process, people think there’s no way you can do it carbonneutral, but it’s doable, and I hope we inspire others to try. I can’t wait until we get to the point where you’re having this bottle of whisky and thinking it has no effect. But our ultimate goal is to get to the stage where every bottle you buy has a positive impact.” To minimise their carbon footprint, Chantal and Sam have powered their off-grid distillery with solar as much as possible. They are also working with the not-for-profit company Greenfleet to reforest twenty acres of their property. “We’ve donated the front paddock; we’ve just signed the contract with Greenfleet. We weren’t sure if they’d be interested because it’s only a small piece of land, but they jumped at the chance. They said with the climate here, the results they can get on twenty acres would take probably 250 acres in other places,” Chantal says. “We’re also going to collaborate with them to put a tasting room and visitor centre out the front in the reforested area. So they’ll talk about what they’ve

Kinglake Distillery is on its way to being the first carbon-neutral whisky distillery in Australia.

done, things like why they’ve chosen certain plants, and we’ll have our tasting room. It’s all happening really quickly, so I’d like to think we’ll have that all done by the middle of next year.” Being eco-friendly is something Chantal and Sam plan to chip away at continuously, improving any aspect of the business that is amenable to environmentally beneficial alterations. “Our bottles we got from France because that’s where you generally get them, but now I’m searching for bottles in Australia. We might have to change the whole look because really it’s only beer bottles that are manufactured in Australia, so we might have to go with that,” Chantal says. Switching to an electric vehicle is also on the list of changes Chantal and Sam plan to make in the near future. The distillery’s biggest emission producer, the 2,500-litre copper boiler, is not something they’ll be able to replace anytime soon. However, they’re hoping that as hydrogen energy technology improves, even the boiling process can be net-zero carbon one day. Chantal’s and Sam’s respect for the environment is rewarded with natural gifts that only Kinglake can give. A spring on their property provides a steady supply of fresh, clean water with a similar mineral profile to the waters used in Scotland’s whisky making industry. Chantal credits the water for much of the O’Grady’s Stand signature flavour. for making Scotch. We really think the water is the biggest factor in the taste of our whisky,” she says. The Kinglake bush also adds its unique flavours to the whisky during fermentation. The whisky mash – a mixture of malted barley and water – is

Photo: Lorraine Casey

Top: Chantal among the many Kentucky bourbon barrels full of aging single malt whisky. Above: Sam and the impressive 2,500-litre copper boiler used for boiling the whisky.

Top: Well-used bottles of O’Grady’s Stand Single Malt in the distillery’s tasting room where customers can try the whisky while soaking up the Kinglake atmosphere. Above: The open shed ensures the whisky produced at Kinglake distillery is imbued with the unique flavours of the surrounding landscape. left open in the shed so that wild yeasts are carried in on the breeze to work their magic. “We have the open ferments, and the barrels are all ageing in the open shed, so there’s the smell of eucalyptus and the bush going around. The provenance we’ve got here is pretty spectacular. The whisky actually tastes the way it tastes because it’s made in Kinglake – we’re very open about our recipes, but if anyone tried to make it elsewhere it probably wouldn’t taste the same,” Chantal says. After fermentation, the whisky is transferred to Kentucky bourbon barrels to age. Chantal says that due to the Kinglake climate, the wood of the barrels expands and contracts dramatically over the seasons in response to the substantial temperature fluctuations. This expansion and contraction speeds up the ageing process as the movement of the oak panels helps to impart the wood flavour onto the whisky. “Our ageing is about half that of places like the UK or Europe; anything that would be a ten-year whisky over there would be a five-year whisky here because the wood is really worked.” At present, Chantal and Sam are devoting themselves to producing only whisky and only the one line, keeping it consistent so customers always know what to expect. When they have a batch of barrels ready, they combine them to distribute the flavours evenly and ensure that any bottle a customer picks off the shelf meets the O’Grady’s Stand Single Malt standard. Chantal and Sam also want to make their eco-friendly product affordable, pricing it so that it is also wallet friendly. “We’ve set our price point at $100, and that’s our best product at that price. We don’t want it to be something where you just dust of the bottle at Christmas and have a sip. We want people to enjoy it and be able to come back and buy that second, third, fourth bottle,” Chantal says. So for those who want to have a shot or two of a fine spirit this Christmas or New Year’s, O’Grady’s Stand Single Malt from Kinglake Distillery is a way to celebrate not only the occasion but also Kinglake’s magnificent natural environment. With any luck, this holiday season will also be the perfect time to celebrate Australia’s first batch of whisky from an officially carbon-neutral distillery.

For more information on Kinglake Distillery or to order a bottle of O’Grady’s Stand Single Malt go to https://kinglakedistillery. com.au/ or call 0413 188 248

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