1830s
Scottish Settlers Arrive
Whisky distilling comes to New Zealand with Scottish immigrants settling in Otago. The region’s pure water and cool climate make it a natural fit — and a quiet tradition takes root in the South Island.
Our Story
A story older than
anyone remembers.
New Zealand whisky didn't begin with us — it began in the 1830s, in a Dunedin shaped by Scottish immigrants and a gold-rush economy. We are the continuation of something that was almost lost.
Who We Are
Custodians of New Zealand's oldest whisky tradition
The New Zealand Whisky Collection was founded with a singular mission: to rescue, preserve, and release the last surviving aged casks from New Zealand's original distilleries — before they disappeared entirely.
What began as an act of historical preservation became something far more ambitious. Today, we distill in Dunedin and mature in Oamaru. Our whisky carries the character of the South Island — cool maritime air, limestone soils, Otago-grown barley — in every bottle we release.
And yes, we have fun doing it.
The Journey
One hundred and fifty years of New Zealand whisky
1870s
Silenced by Temperance
The Temperance Movement effectively shuts down distilling across New Zealand. Government regulation clamps down on the industry, and whisky production goes silent for nearly a century.
1969
Willowbank Distillery Founded
The Baker family founds the Willowbank Distillery in Dunedin, reviving whisky production in New Zealand after almost a century of silence.
1974
First Whisky Bottled
The first Willowbank whisky is decanted and bottled. Iconic expressions like Wilsons, 45 South, and the single malt Lammerlaw put New Zealand whisky on the map.
1981
Seagrams Takes Over
Seagrams of Canada buys Willowbank. Production continues to thrive under new ownership, and the distillery’s reputation grows.
1996
The Stills Fall Silent
Seagrams ceases distilling at Willowbank. The stills are eventually shipped to Fiji for rum production. New Zealand’s only whisky distillery goes dark.
1997
Foster’s Firesells the Stock
Foster’s buys the business and firesells most of the 30,000 casks. Decades of maturing whisky are scattered, sold off, or abandoned. New Zealand no longer has a whisky distillery.
2003
The Rescue
Warren and Debbie Preston buy the remaining ~600 casks from an old airplane hangar, move them to Oamaru, and open the Cellar Door. Most of the blended stock goes into NZ ex-red wine casks — beginning a new chapter.
2004
Rebrands to Milford
The whisky is rebranded under the Milford label and begins to find a new audience, though the full potential of the stock is yet to be realised.
2009
The Collection is Born
Greg Ramsay takes over the company from the Prestons, assembles a group of investors, and relaunches the range as The New Zealand Whisky Collection — bringing New Zealand whisky to the world stage.
2020
Distilling Returns to Dunedin
A state-of-the-art distillery is built inside the iconic Speight’s Brewery in Dunedin. Whisky distilling returns to the city where it began over 150 years ago.
2021
First Spirit Flows
The first new-make spirit flows from the copper pot stills at the Dunedin Distillery, distilled from Otago-grown barley by Head Distiller Michael Byars and Master Distiller Cyril Yates.
Today
The Story Continues
New make spirit is distilled in Dunedin from locally grown barley and matures in our seaside bond store in Oamaru. The story of New Zealand whisky — sleeping for the better part of a century — is being written again, one cask at a time.
The Rescue
Whisky that nearly didn't exist
When the last commercial whisky distillery closed in 1997, hundreds of barrels were scattered across the South Island — some sold off, some forgotten. Warren and Debbie Preston rescued the remaining casks from an old airplane hangar and moved them to Oamaru, where they opened the Cellar Door and began preserving what was left.
In 2009, Greg Ramsay took over the company, assembled a group of investors, and relaunched the range as The New Zealand Whisky Collection — bringing these extraordinary South Island whiskies to the world stage.
Browse the Collection
South Island
To make whisky that only New Zealand could make.
Not whisky modelled on Scotland, or Japan, or anywhere else. Whisky that tastes of the Southern Alps, of Otago's limestone soils, of a shoreline reached by salt air. Whisky that could come from nowhere else on earth.