Pokeno
The Pokeno distillery is located in the middle of a hillside landscape in New Zealand shaped by volcanic rock. It owes its name to the small town of the same name southeast of Auckland, where it is also based.
| Information about the Distillery | |
|---|---|
| New Zealand | |
| 175.017813 -37.249218 | |
| Active | |
| 2017 | |
| Matt Johns, Celine Johns | |
| https://pokenowhisky.com/ |
| Average tasting notes Tasting notes |
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|---|---|---|
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Nosing
Fruit:
Sherry:
Sweet:
Cherry:
Berries:
Sherry:
Sweet:
Cherry:
Zitrus:
Chocolate:
Berries:
Zitrus:
Fruit:
Chocolate:
Vanilla:
Oak:
Herbs:
Herbs:
Lemon:
Vanilla:
Lemon:
Lemon Peel:
Lemon Peel:
Caramel:
Heather:
Oak:
Floral:
Peach:
Pineapple:
Dried Fruit:
Spices:
Orange:
Raisin:
Heather:
Date:
Caramel:
Floral:
Clove:
Pear:
Grapefruit:
Clove:
Grass:
Grass:
Grapefruit:
Pineapple:
Banana:
Pear:
Dried Fruit:
Date:
Raisin:
Orange:
Banana:
Peach:
Tasting
Sweet:
Fruit:
Sweet:
Zitrus:
Cherry:
Chocolate:
Sherry:
Zitrus:
Chocolate:
Spices:
Cherry:
Dried Fruit:
Berries:
Oak:
Cinnamon:
Fruit:
Nuts:
Caramel:
Cake:
Grapefruit:
Caramel:
Grapefruit:
Dried Fruit:
Banana:
Banana:
Vanilla:
Sherry:
Berries:
Vanilla:
Herbs:
Herbs:
Oak:
Hay:
Cinnamon:
Hay:
Herb:
Dark Chocolate:
Nuts:
Cake:
Orange:
Herb:
Honey:
Malt:
Dark Chocolate:
Pineapple:
Honey:
Oil:
Heather:
Malt:
Orange:
Heather:
Coffee:
Spices:
Oil:
Coffee:
Pineapple:
Lemon:
Lemon:
Finish
Sherry:
Sweet:
Nuts:
Oak:
Fruit:
Zitrus:
Oil:
Sherry:
Sweet:
Oak:
Cherry:
Zitrus:
Oil:
Herb:
Orange:
Chocolate:
Grapefruit:
Cherry:
Fruit:
Coffee:
Spices:
Herb:
Grapefruit:
Nuts:
Malt:
Orange:
Malt:
Chocolate:
Peach:
Date:
Lemon:
Pepper:
Dark Chocolate:
Dried Fruit:
Coffee:
Pepper:
Dark Chocolate:
Peach:
Lemon:
Dried Fruit:
Spices:
Date:
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The Whisky
The Whisky at Pokeno is characterised by the production in batches, a long fermentation time of up to 80 hours and a slow distillation in copper pot stills - according to the principle "quality before quantity".
The distillery's core range includes Pokeno Origin (matured in first-fill Bourbon casks), Pokeno Discovery (matured in first-fill Bourbon, Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez casks) and Pokeno Revelation (matured in first-fill Bourbon and New Zealand Red Wine casks). In addition, Pokeno releases single cask bottlings and the innovative Exploration Series, in which special types of wood or special malt are used.
The Production
The distillery places great emphasis on the New Zealand terroir, culture and nature of Aotearoa, as New Zealand is called in the Maori language. The water for the Pokeno Whisky comes from a spring in the Bombay Hills in the volcanic hills surrounding the distillery. The barley is also sourced from the region in collaboration with family-run farms. The Pokeno Whisky is thus a thoroughly local product and every step of the production process takes place locally.
The Maturation
Due to the warm, subtropical climate, the casks at Pokeno mature faster, which also results in an increased Angels' Share of up to nine percent per year. Storage for ten years, as can be done in Scotland, would therefore not be possible here in New Zealand.
Since there were no cooperages in New Zealand until now, all barrels had to be imported. Pokeno wanted to change this and built its own cooperage, for which they were able to win over the Scotsman Mike Tawse. To this day, he is the only trained cooper in the country. He was also the one who made the world's first casks from New Zealand Totara wood, which are used for the Pokeno Totara Cask Single Malt Whisky from the Exploration Series.
The History
The owner of the Pokeno distillery comes from England and can look back on many years of experience in the Whisky industry. Matt Johns founded the distillery in New Zealand together with his wife Celine in 2017, and production started in 2019. Today, Pokeno is New Zealand's largest Single Malt distillery.
The Visitor Centre
The Pokeno distillery offers tours followed by tastings every Saturday. These can be booked online.
Pōkeno Distillery
22 Gateway Park Drive
Pōkeno 2402
New Zealand
Email: contact@pokenowhisky.co.nz
User Notes about the Distillery
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