Well autumn has finally arrived in Melbourne with a stretch of cool weather on the way and our record breaking indian summer over. Melbourne experienced its wettest and warmest March on record which is great for our maturing barrels of whisky.
Climate plays such an important role in maturation and we've gone to great lengths at the distillery to make our barrels work hard, and make the most of their time in the bond store. Our bond store is painted dark charcoal to absorb heat during the day, and we track both internal and external temperature, humidity and wind direction (northern winds in Melbourne are typically dry) - it's handy being located at an airport - and then adjust the internal climate accordingly. As time goes by, we will also rotate our barrels to different locations in our bond store to assist in the character development of our whisky.
Each and every one of our barrels can be traced back to the distillation of the new make spirit and also the type of oak, source of the barrel (winery or distillery of origin) and approximate age of the oak. This helps us decide which barrel to decant and also assists in barrel purchasing and coopering.
Even though bottling our whisky is still a few seasons away, it is front of mind every single day at the distillery. From the barley we choose right through to the location the barrel sits in our bond store, we make choices that will ultimately lead to producing a consistent and uniquely Australian malt whisky.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Monday, June 1, 2009
Whisky and food matching
From time to time, Victoria Valley Distillery hosts whisky dinners. These events are structured to provide a casual environment to discover the world of whisky (and whiskey) and match whisky styles with various courses of food.
I recently visited a bottle shop to source some malt and bourbon whiskies for the dinner. The proprietor raised an eyebrow when I mention what we were doing, suggesting it was not possible to conduct such an event "properly" because the olfactory senses (your sense of smell) would be knocked out by the huge amount of alcohol in the whisky. I am not too sure what "properly" means but from my experience and the experience of the guests I invite, we certainly get a great understanding of the different styles of whisky - matched with wonderful food. Everyone's encouraged to try the whisky in different ways (neat, with ice, water or soda) to both match the food and their pallet. While not every whisky is a "hit" with everyone, most people have a favourite and a favourite match. To me that is a successful evening.
Mention malt whisky to bottleshop proprietors and "tweed jacket", "older gentleman" and "establishment" are words that come to the fore. Certainly that's the traditional market. Whisky is not typically drunk at the dinner table with a meal. I believe there's an opportunity for a new vocabulary and certainly new occaision for whisky and our whisky dinners are just one way of broadening the scope.
If your interested in attending or hosting a dinner, contact the distillery and I'd be happy to discuss the dinners with you in more detail.
I recently visited a bottle shop to source some malt and bourbon whiskies for the dinner. The proprietor raised an eyebrow when I mention what we were doing, suggesting it was not possible to conduct such an event "properly" because the olfactory senses (your sense of smell) would be knocked out by the huge amount of alcohol in the whisky. I am not too sure what "properly" means but from my experience and the experience of the guests I invite, we certainly get a great understanding of the different styles of whisky - matched with wonderful food. Everyone's encouraged to try the whisky in different ways (neat, with ice, water or soda) to both match the food and their pallet. While not every whisky is a "hit" with everyone, most people have a favourite and a favourite match. To me that is a successful evening.
Mention malt whisky to bottleshop proprietors and "tweed jacket", "older gentleman" and "establishment" are words that come to the fore. Certainly that's the traditional market. Whisky is not typically drunk at the dinner table with a meal. I believe there's an opportunity for a new vocabulary and certainly new occaision for whisky and our whisky dinners are just one way of broadening the scope.
If your interested in attending or hosting a dinner, contact the distillery and I'd be happy to discuss the dinners with you in more detail.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Website up and a little peak at our corporate brand
Finally our website is up! We will continue to add new features over the coming year, so be sure to stay tuned and come back for more updates.
This is the first public launch of our corporate logo and design. A special thanks to John Simpson at Hobart Design for his work on our branding. The logo is an oak leaf. Oak is the single most important ingredient that turns our distillate into whisky. It is the flavour and colour from a barrel that creates whisky.
This is the first public launch of our corporate logo and design. A special thanks to John Simpson at Hobart Design for his work on our branding. The logo is an oak leaf. Oak is the single most important ingredient that turns our distillate into whisky. It is the flavour and colour from a barrel that creates whisky.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Capital Raising Complete
We have completed our second round of capital raising in Victoria Valley Pty Ltd. While we didn't hit our maximum subscription, we have secured sufficient funding to move forward with our plans to create Australia's finest selections of whisky. Any one interested in our capital raising journey can contact me and I'd love to share with you our experience.
Our next phase of development is commissioning the distillery. This starts tomorrow with site selection. Stay tuned for more information on how we are progressing.
Our next phase of development is commissioning the distillery. This starts tomorrow with site selection. Stay tuned for more information on how we are progressing.
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