Speight’s welcomes NZ Whisky into their Cellar Door

The New Zealand Whisky Collection and Speight’s Brewery have been working together closely for some time now – especially since distilling commenced in February 2021. Now the Speight’s Brewery team are excited to include the New Zealand Whisky Collection range, as part of their Cellar door selection. 

“It’s been nearly 30 years since Wilsons Distillery had its cellar door open at their Willowbank property; so its brilliant to be back in Dunedin” says Michael Byars, the GM of the New Zealand Whisky Co. based in Oamaru, running their distillery in Speights Brewery. 

“We’ve re-built this business and industry off the back of the last casks of Single Malt and blended whisky that were distilled at Wilson’s here in Dunedin between 1987 and 1993. But the first legal distilleries in Dunedin started much earlier; over 150 years ago. This city has such a rich whisky heritage and this is all part of restoring the distilling tradition in downtown Dunedin". 

 Rosie Shanks, the Venue Manager at Speight’s Brewery, is looking forward to offering something new to their visitors. “We are excited to introduce the New Zealand Whisky Collection products to the Speight’s Brewery Cellar Door and online Shop; it is wonderful to be able to extend our range to include another product that has historic ties to the Brewery and one of our prominent founders, James Speight”. 

Michael Byars, who grew up on a sheep farm in West-Otago and ended up as a distiller in Finland, relocated home to manage the NZ Whisky Co. “It wasn’t the easiest thing to do for me and my family in the midst of a pandemic. But now to see our products being showcased here in Dunedin, by the Speight’s Cellar door team  – with excellent knowledge about whiskies, as well as beer – makes it all worthwhile. We’d love to see people of Dunedin to come in –  to discover why brewing and distilling have always gone hand-in-glove. We look forward to developing our relationship with Speight’s and seeing how the growth can complement both companies and more broadly, Dunedin as a community". 

SHOP NZ WHISKY:

Visit Speight’s cellar door on Rattray Street or click logos below to shop online!