Whiskey Story

Waitui honey malt whiskey…

 

…dates back to the first documentation of whiskey ever.  Made for the King of Scotland, these old recipes were found in journals dating back to 1494 when whiskey was developing, using honey, malt and herbs as an elixir for the Scottish King by a monk called John Corr.  The monk received a quality of malt from the Scottish King and returned to the king an elixir called whiskey – in Gaelic meaning “Water of Life”. The belief is that whiskey goes back to the 11^th century made by Irish monks, but this is not documented and may well be an Irish story and was also perhaps a pogen (potato whiskey).

Indeed, honey was a big element in the first whiskeys or “Water of Life” made for Kings and royal houses of Europe as ‘elixirs’ produced by skilled monks, healers and alchemist of early ages.

This 600 year old whiskey style was lost as modern production methods changed and as sugar replaced the use of honey in the 1600’s.  The Schnapp Dragon Distillery has gone back in time to produce the original whiskey first produced for the King of Scotland in 1494 as documented in the kings journals.

Since this time a lot of whiskey has flowed under the bridge with 600 years of conditioning us to what in the modern world we call whiskey. Now mostly mass produced by large multinational companies, without the batch variations or truly capturing the terrior of the region they are made from.

Our Waitui is an expression of the pristine area and environment it is produced, in small handcrafted batches aged in oak barrels for a minimal of 4 years and more.

It is a mellow honey malt, full of flavour that lingers on your taste palate for long after your glass is empty.  We recommend you drink straight over ice or your own personal way to enjoy this elixir of well being at least once a day.

Terry Knight: “We produce small batch runs to barrel age for at least four years and happily release only limited amounts each year from our aged barrels.”