It's pouring with rain as I make my way into Sam Snead's House of Whisky - it's about the time of year to start thinking about those warming drams and Auckland is lucky enough to have a couple of decent specialty stores. I'm meeting Matt Thomson of Thomson Whisky to hear how he managed to rescue casks of precious cargo from the long-closed Willowbank distillery.
A set builder for film, TV and commercial work by trade, Matt had toyed with building his own still before deciding to go in search of the Willowbank barrels abandoned some time after the family-started distillery (1968) passed into corporate hands. The barrels were deemed no longer necessary for production in 2000.
Luckily for Matt, making whisky takes a long time, so even shutting the doors to the distillery left a considerable stockpile sitting in nigh-on perfect conditions for aging whisky in the Scotch style.
Matt is very passionate about his product - naturally when your name is on it you want to be proud of it. It's available in an 8-year-old blend, a 10-year single malt and a single cask, single malt 18-year-old, all aged in bourbon barrels.
Matt's palate is worth trusting, as he samples and chooses only the best of each of the products.
