McHenry Distillery is Australia’s southern-most whisky distillery.  Perched at the end of the great southern continent and battered by tempestuous gales from the west whipped up by storms in the Roaring 40s.  These cold turbulent winds purify the air and stimulate the atmosphere to produce the pristine rains that feed the Distillery’s springs which become the heart of our spirit.

Kristy has been involved in the distilling industry for over 20 years, she learnt whisky making from her father, Bill Lark, the Godfather of the Australian distilling industry and the finesse of gin and liqueur production from her mother, Lyn. In 2016 Kristy the opportunity to open her own distillery, Killara, which is the first Australian distillery to be fully owned and operated by a second generation Australian distiller, and a female!! Located in the heart of the Coal Valley near the historic town of Richmond, Killara offers a paddock to bottle experience for whisky and gin lovers alike.

The passion her father has for the industry definitely rubbed off on Kristy as she is a huge advocate for not only the industry but specifically the women in the industry which is why she started the Australian Women in Distilling Association. AWDA is all about promoting and encouraging women in the distilling industry.

Damian and Madeleine Mackey established Mackey’s Distillery in New Town, Tasmania, in 2007. It was during these exciting early days of the industry that Damian honed his craft as a maker of both gin and whisky. With the help of Bill and Lyn Lark, for whom Damian worked as a land surveyor in the 1990s, Tasmania’s distinctively rich and smooth triple distilled single malt Mackey brand was born. Around a decade later the Mackeys helped to establish Shene Distillery, moving their entire operation there. This allowed the production of Mackey to seriously scale up. Additionally, they developed the multi-award-winning gin, Poltergeist, which was also released from Shene. Both the whisky and gin continued to gain ground over the following years, picking up a swathe of international awards. Damian and Madeleine have always drawn on their Irish heritage for inspiration. Triple distillation was an anomaly in the early days of the Tasmanian industry, but it has become their signature.

 

In 2019 Damian and Madeleine re-established, and enlarged, their original distillery. At the beginning of 2020 they began laying down Tassie’s first pot-still whisky casks, made from a mash bill containing both malted and unmalted barley, as well as oats. They are hoping that other Tassie distillers will catch on to ‘Tasmanian Pot Still Whisky’ and it will become a genuine category, combining everything that makes Tasmanian whisky great with this wonderful and complex whisky-production method from Ireland. The first casks are likely to be mature around mid-2022. In recent months Damian and Madeleine launched Bright Night Gin, a deep & complex tipple that they hope will appeal to a wide range of tastes.

Dean Jackson has worked in the industry for nearly 9 years, working as a distiller at two distilleries and assisting at others. Dean has experience with all parts of the whisky making process — from farming (growing and harvesting) to malting, brewing, distilling and maturation. In his career, Dean has designed and made many other products,  like brandy, gin, schnapps, liqueurs and more, and been able to pass on his knowledge through teaching many current and emerging distillers. 

Dean has worked as part of the team at Spring Bay Distillery for just over 2 years, happily working alongside Cam and Suzy Brett as well as our newest team member Hannah. Spring Bay Distillery’s approach to distilling is about working with the best local and Australian sourced ingredients to create a great consistent product that is always extremely drinkable.