With high rainfall, fertile soils and a reliable climate, Scotts Gap is perfect grain-growing country. And the local Auld Distillery - a family run venture built in 2017 by Rob and Toni Auld on their farm - have put that and their grain growing skills to good use in the knowledge that to create ultra-premium whisky, you need to grow perfect crops.
In addition to the location, the farm is also blessed with a pure natural spring providing the ideal mineral composition for whisky making. Combining this water with the grain from their paddocks in their own on-site distillery means they truly know the origins and ingredients of the spirit they're creating - as they grow, harvest and craft them all on site.
From trialling unique grains and specialist cultivars, to concocting brews in the Auld Lab (their on-farm test distillery) right through to sourcing handcrafted, bespoke copper stills, Rob and Toni are hands-on every step of the way, creating a complete NZ grain-to-glass whisky story.
"The land at Auld Farm has been growing grain since 1883 -
it’s what the farm does best... but we were curious. We asked ourselves: ‘what if these excellent crops could produce something even more exceptional – Southland’s very first seed-to-sip single malt whisky?"
"The land at Auld Farm Distillery has been in our family for three generations. It’s a remarkable plot, run by farmers all by the name of Robert. Grandad Robert came to Auld Farm after WWI and today, the legacy is continued by his grandson Rob, and his wife Toni."
Interesting Facts
The farm will have been in the Auld Family for 100 years in May 2024 and has been growing grain since 1883.
The land has been in the Auld family for three generations. It’s a remarkable plot, run by farmers all by the name of Robert. Grandad Robert first came to Auld Farm after WW1. Today, the legacy is continued by his grandson Rob, and Rob’s wife, Toni and they hope to pass it to their children.
The perfect combination of soils, rainfall, location and long sunlight make Auld Farm Distillery one of the best places in New Zealand to grow grain.
Nine different grains are grown on farm from traditional Barley, Wheat and Oats through to Black Oats, Purple Wheat, Maize, Black Barley, Rye and Triticale - all these grains go through the distillery individually to be made into whisky.
The grains used are still milled by Bentall's grain mills from 1880's UK.
The long seven day fermentation used at Auld creates greater flavour and complexity of spirit.
Auld is currently the southernmost distillery in New Zealand and produces terroir driven Single Malt & Single Grain Whiskies.
Cask World's Highlights
We first reached out to Auld a few years ago, in the early stages of building Cask World. As we slowly grew, we learnt more about Auld founders (Rob & Toni Auld) and their clear plans to develop and share the story of New Zealands truest farm to bottle distillery. Today, we're privileged to be a small part of their journey.
Visiting New Zealand has always been a dream of mine, having been enticed by the many adventure stories my father told me over the years - and it didn't disappoint. Auld's location, with its stunning fields, vistas and climate (perfect for whisky production) is very remote - in fact if you look to the south from the distillery, the next stop over the horizon would be Antartica!
On arrival the first thing that jumped out was the familiar stills - I recognised them immediately as being by the same designer as the stills at the successful Overeem distillery in Tasmania. Moving on, it was clear to see the distillery was born from a history of countryside farming combined with proud family heritage.
The Aulds, like us at Cask World, are constantly looking to the future. Where will we be and what can we do today to provide a firm platform For us, our children and their children to stand on in 2124?
This is a family run business in a fast paced emerging whisky industry, but who carve out all the time in the world to dedicate to creating a special single malt for us all to enjoy.
We're honoured to own casks of maturing whisky from prior to Aulds first release and look forward to tasting their inaugural whiskies and following the development of their brand over the decades to come.
Auld at a glance
Distillery Name
Auld Farm Distillery
Founder
Rob and Toni Auld
Distillery Age
Established 2017
Distillery Location
Scotts Gap, Southland, New Zealand
Head Distiller
Rob and Toni Auld
The Team
Rob and Toni Auld - Founders | Farmers | Distillers
Facilities
All on Farm Distillery growing the grain from Seed to Sip
Primary Whisky Types
Single Malt, Single Grain, Single Paddock
Cask Types
Ex Bourbon, Ex Sherry, Ex Port, Ex New Zealand Pinot
Cask Storage
Horizontal in storage containers on the farm
Av. Length of Maturation
6 years
Angels' Share
Unknown
Current Bottle Prices
$125- $350NZD
Take a look around
Click on an image to view the gallery full screen