There's More Than Whisky Growing Around Here...

If you've been following Auld Farm Distillery for a while, you'll probably know quite a bit about our grain, our whisky and our slightly ambitious decision to build a distillery in the middle of a Southland farm.

But there's something we haven't talked about much.

Our family.

Because amongst the crops, the casks, the distilling and the never-ending farm jobs, we're also raising three boys.

And life around here isn't always quite as glamorous as a beautifully photographed bottle of whisky might suggest.

Three boys and a distillery

We're Rob and Toni. Farmers first, distillers second, and Mum and Dad somewhere amongst all the chaos.

Our boys, Rylan, Cole and Baillie, have grown up with a rather unusual backdrop.

For them, having a distillery on the farm is just part of everyday life.

It's not a grand whisky adventure. It's simply home.

And while we're busy trying to work out how to build something that will last for generations, they're busy doing what kids do — growing up far too quickly.

Why it matters

When we talk about keeping the farm in the family for another hundred years, it's easy for that to sound like a business plan.

But for us, it's much more personal.

It's about giving our boys the opportunity to have a future here, should they want one.

Not because we expect them to follow in our footsteps, but because we'd like them to have the choice.

The farm has been part of the Auld family since 1924.

What happens over the next hundred years is anyone's guess.

But we're doing our best to make sure there's something here for the next generation.

And in the meantime, there's still homework to be done, dinner to get on the table and probably somebody looking for a missing shoe.

Just another day at Auld Farm.

Rob & Toni