The Riverina's first single malt whiskey was released to raging success Sunday, and it was a Griffith family business that has made it happen.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Michelle and Mark Burns from Aisling Distillery have been battling nervous excitement for the past few weeks in the anticipation of five years of hard work and passion finally coming to a head.
Aisling Distillery released 1000 bottles of its Heritage Collection online Sunday, to a fan base of over 400 whiskey enthusiasts and local supporters eagerly awaiting the 7pm green light to buy.
"It went extremely well, the support has been amazing," Michelle Burns said.
"Our social media leading up to the release grew by 1061 per cent.
"There's been a lot of people following from the industry as well."
The Burns family have been engineering distillery equipment for 10 years in Griffith, the only manufacturer in Australia. Their stills are sent all over the country, so releasing their own whiskey distilled from their equipment meant a self-imposed expectation to produce an exceptional product.
"We laid the first barrels down in 2016 and lots of fellow Australian distilleries release at two years and we let it go at just under five," Mrs Burns said.
"It gives time for those flavour profiles to open up and become more complex and for the single malt whiskey to bond with the barrel.
"We wanted to release when we were ready and when we knew we had a product that we were happy with."
The collection, which consists of Series I, a single malt aged in a tawny cask and Series II aged in an apera cask, has already been picked up by bars and restaurants throughout Australia, with one Griffith business in particular getting behind the release.
"We will be putting their whiskeys straight to the top shelf of our bar. They are both uniquely different and very delicious," Luke Piccolo from Limone said, who has been a support for Aisling from the start.
"I love the fact Mark and Michelle are so focused on producing a unique high quality product. They are true perfectionists.
"They are another reason why this region is becoming known for high quality products made by genuine hard working families."
The Heritage Collection whiskeys are available for purchase now from Billabong Bottleshop in Griffith as well as from the Aisling cellar door.
READ MORE