The Perfect Cask

Unique, unrivalled, exceptional.

Those are the words Jon Turnbull uses to describe his experience with Auld having bought a Foundation Harvest Cask in 2019.

He doesn’t choose those words flippantly. Each of them, like the whisky he’s just bought, tells a story about what he’s learnt while dealing with the Auld Distillery.

Jon admits he’s never considered himself a massive whisky drinker, but he’s come to learn and appreciate what good liquor tastes like over the years.

“When it comes to exceptional liquor it really comes down to good flavour and a good balance between the different components of the drink,” he said.

“With whisky, it’s the flavour that’s been imparted by the grain, the lingering taste you feel after a sip, and the quality you can detect as you’re tasting and drinking.”

A truly “exceptional” whisky can be hard to find in New Zealand, but for Jon, location has never dictated his choice. Like many Kiwis, a single malt Scotch seems to be the default.

However, when Jon heard about Auld Distillery and what they were doing, he knew straight away that it was something special and not simply another run-of-the-mill experiment.

“I think it’s the whole story of Auld that captures you at the beginning,” he said.

“They’re third generation grain farmers, with very innovative farming practices, that are committed to producing a product that is premier and holds up the highest standards of excellence.”

“I wasn’t interested in being part of something that was mediocre,” Jon said.

If he was going to buy in, he wanted to make sure it was worth it. That’s when more of the Auld story began to unravel.

For starters, the Aulds are one of few whisky makers in the world who actually grow their grain on the farm where the distillery is.

“And hardly any of those grain-to-glass distilleries are able to trace down to a single paddock,” Rob Auld said.

“Take one of the smaller distilleries in Scotland for example, they’ll use around 10 tonnes of grain a day, and they’ll be getting their grain from all over the UK. So that difference in taste that’s growing at a farm level, will just get blended out because there’s so much grain involved.”

Following a wine analogy, Rob said they know they’re going to get different types of harvests from year to year and they’ll never try to keep things the same.

For Jon, this is not only extremely aspirational, it’s also innovative, exciting, and – excuse the pun – ground-breaking.

“Here’s a young family, going out on an ultimately scary new adventure that is not without considerable risk, but they’re passionate and prepared to give it a go,” Jon said.

Rob is open to discussing through the details of the process with cask buyers. Jon knew good whisky was made incredible by the water it uses. Originally, Auld were going to use their isolation to their advantage by utilising fresh rain water, however a sample from the natural spring on the back of the farm came back with perfect marks for whisky making.

“Now the water in the whisky comes directly from the farm as well,” Jon said.

“I mean that is just totally unique.”

Once the incredible story behind the spirit was revealed, Jon committed to a cask, and Rob was there to guide him through the process.

“For most people, like Jon, once they’ve committed they come out to the farm for a tour and a tasting of all our grains,” Rob said.

“They then taste the spirit that will go into a barrel of their choice, before receiving a sample of that spirit, some of our spring water, two tasting glasses, and a certificate of authenticity.”

Jon’s grain – planted on the 24th April, 2019 in paddock #29 (Paddock next to Pumphouse) – was nurtured through winter before taking off in the spring, and harvested on the 26th of Jan, 2020.

“When you arrive at the distillery and put the whole story together - seeing the grain out in the field growing away – it’s special knowing this batch of clear liquid is about to turn into something quite magnificent,” Jon said.

“Then you choose a cask. Not just whether it’s an ex-bourbon, sherry, or pinot noir, but you physically get to choose the barrel off the rack.

“Moments later, you’re filling up your cask like it’s a car at the petrol station.”

Jon’s whisky now lies in a 200L ex-bourbon barrel, where it will remain asleep for roughly 10 years.

Once woken, Jon is in no doubt — He will have one of the country’s most unique, unrivalled, exceptional whiskys.

You can join this journey with us, secure your Foundation Harvest Cask now. Get in touch to find out how.