Terry Knight & Rachel Raine

Distinctive blends reflect changing tastes

Gone are the days when whiskey was distilled in a few, generally colder countries.  Many brands now come out of distilleries in tropical countries like India where the mass produced drink is often blended with imported Scotch and sweetened to taste.  Up to recently, Australia and New Zealand’s whiskey making efforts were often described as ‘experimental’.  But that failed to recognize a strong down under tradition that goes all the way back to the early whalers.  The first recorded kiwi distillery was Owen McShane, how by 1838 was supplying whaling settlements around the South Coast, from Waikawa around to Preservation Inlet.  Nowadays, regional distilleries use distinctive spring waters and influence their typically grain neutral spirit with subtle yet salivating blends that appeal to a whole new, generally younger and more experimental generation of whiskey drinkers.

Terry Knight- founder

For the last six years, Terry Knight and Rachel Raine of Schnapp Dragon Distillery in Takaka have been using the simple ingredients of malted barley, peat, honey and water from the Te Waikoropupu aquifer to make their distinctive Waitui single honey malt whiskey. Distilled from a manuka honey malt mash, with an ancient Chatham Island peat in the process, it is then aged for at least 4 years in old honey wine barrels.

Only small batches of the 37 percent spirit is produced, which is then stored for a minimum of four years in oak barrels before hand labeling and bottling. We make small batch quality honey malt whiskey- no blends or additives, only honey malt.

Explains Terry; “Although a lot of distilleries don’t allude to it, honey has long been used for refining whiskey. The delicate oak gives the whiskey its ‘weight’ but the distilled New Zealand manuka honey and malt definitely delivers an almost toffee taste that’s in perfect balance with the malt. It take away the ‘garish’ tasted that whiskey definitely presents for some.”

Schnapp Dragon’s distinctly Golden Bay range now also includes lines of citrus liqueurs honey and fruit wines Gold Rum Rumberry and a range of boozy fruits, all from fruit harvested locally from bio grow orchards or spray free citrus groves. Terry Knight says the inspiration for his overall operation came from a trip around Europe.  “Every village seemed not only to have a small distillery that processed excess fruit in the area into wines, spirits and liqueurs, but its facilities were often used as a processing centre by the wider community for turning their excess crops into specialized food products.  This business model could work well for many New Zealand towns.”

Terry started his working career as a carpenter in Christchurch, taking off for his OE before then settling in Golden Bay 35 years ago.

He was the visionary co owner and builder of the Awaroa Lodge in the early 1990’s, one of first, real wilderness eco lodges in New Zealand. Terry managed and developed the lodge over 10 years to become an icon of the regions tourism market before selling. From there he began making honey mead with his cousin and developing Le Champs de Miel, a honey bubbly and a world first for a methode traditionalle from honey. Then the skyrocketing cost of manuka honey dealt to that business. Through this time Terry had been working with a Nelson distillery making the first whiskey ‘experiments’ while learning and developing the art of distillation. From there, with knowledge and lessons learnt in 2006, he set up the Schnapp Dragon Distillery in Takaka along with his partner Rachel Raine.

Their main distillation equipment is a high quality German pot still with all the bells and whistles. They also have an the original 130lt copper pot still, and out the back in storage, is a three-metre high 200 litre all glass triple distillation still.

From eco routes and the quest for a healthier life and environment their work began to develop “Drinks for the health conscious drinker among us.” Then began the research of the old- of gathering the fruit and honey flavors of the land around us. Schnapp Dragon Distillery is born.