Pōkeno Distillery

Totara Barrel

46% ABV

New Zealand Single Malt Whisky

Totara is the indigenous tree that built Aotearoa. From the arrival of Maori, the timber from this tree was used to build waka, homes, carvings, weapons and containers for storing food. The wood is hard and straight grained, with very sweet and creamy notes when toasted.

In New Zealand’s only working Cooperage, Mike our Cooper has handcrafted what are the world’s first ever 200-litre totara barrels for maturing whisky, and given them a light toast and a light char.

After a full maturation in first-fill bourbon casks, we have transferred the whisky to the totara barrels for a second maturation period.

NOSE: On the nose there are notes of creamy coconut, sweet scented sap, ripe white peach and freshly cut wood.

TASTE: In the mouth we discover bitter lemon, stone fruit and hints of dark chocolate

FINISH: Long and sweet finish.

About the Distillery

In 2017 Pōkeno Whisky was founded with a vision to put New Zealand on the map as a producer of single malt whisky. It is the largest single malt distillery in the country.

Today, the Pōkeno Whisky Company handles all processing on site at a state-of-the-art distillery with maturation warehouses, filtration and bottling facilities, and a fully functional cooperage.

Everything done there is driven by a goal to create one of the world’s great Single Malts. Batch production, long fermentation, and slow distillation are just a few of the things that help make them different. As craft distillers, they are also able to focus on quality over quantity and on doing things their way, not the easy way.

Using only pure volcanic spring water from the North Island distillery’s surrounding volcanic hills and family-farmed barley from New Zealand’s rich, fertile South Island, Pōkeno selects only the finest casks to mature their precious spirit, and the warm subtropical local climate accelerates its maturation and flavor development.

All of this allows Pōkeno to produce Single Malt whisky with exceptional body and flavor; whisky that captures the pure spirit of Aotearoa New Zealand.

"The New Zealand spirit is forged through a unique marriage of culture and climate. It's an intangible phenomenon that produces tangible greatness and enables Kiwis to fearlessly punch above their weight on a global stage. And it's this spirit that inspires us to experiment with flavour to create world-class- but distinctively different - single malts.

There is no compromise in anything we do, and I would like to thank you for joining us on this journey of discovery, not just of our whisky, but of Aotearoa New Zealand."

— Matt Johns, Founder Pōkeno