5Nines Distilling — 99.999% Precision, Adelaide Hills
5Nines Distilling is one of the Adelaide Hills' most distinctive and ambitious small-batch distilleries — a producer founded by David Pearse and Steven Griguol with a single, uncompromising goal: to achieve perfection in every bottle. The name says it all. In engineering and science, ‘5Nines’ — 99.999% — is the standard used to describe the highest achievable level of purity, reliability, and precision. It is the standard to which the world's most critical systems are held. It is the standard to which David and Steven hold every spirit they produce.
The Philosophy
5Nines was born from a shared passion for crafting the finest single malt whisky, gin, and premium spirits — and a shared conviction that the pursuit of perfection is not merely an aspiration but a discipline. Every bottle produced at 5Nines is the result of a meticulous, hands-on, small-batch process in which nothing is left to chance and nothing is compromised. The distillery's handcrafted approach means that David and Steven are personally involved in every stage of production — from the selection of ingredients and the management of fermentation to the careful monitoring of distillation and the patient oversight of maturation. Each bottle is a labour of love, crafted to deliver a unique and unforgettable drinking experience.
The Region: Adelaide Hills, South Australia
The Adelaide Hills is one of Australia's most exciting and rapidly emerging craft spirits regions — a cool, elevated area in the Mount Lofty Ranges approximately 30 kilometres east of Adelaide, whose clean air, pure water, and cool climate create ideal conditions for producing spirits of exceptional quality and character. The region's elevation — ranging from 400 to 700 metres above sea level — moderates temperatures significantly compared to the surrounding lowlands, producing a cool, maritime-influenced climate that is ideal for the slow, patient maturation of whisky. The Adelaide Hills' pure, soft water — filtered through the ancient granite and quartzite of the Mount Lofty Ranges — is central to the character of 5Nines' spirits, contributing the clarity and mineral precision that are the hallmark of the distillery's style.
5Nines Hills Cask Single Malt Whisky 700mL — 44.8% ABV
The Hills Cask is the definitive expression of the 5Nines philosophy — a single malt whisky of genuine complexity and character, crafted from a marriage of three complementary cask types that together create a spirit of remarkable balance, depth, and originality.
The three cask types that define the Hills Cask are as distinctive as they are carefully chosen:
Bourbon casks — ex-American bourbon barrels that impart the characteristic vanilla, caramel, and toasted oak sweetness of American oak maturation, providing the approachable, rounded foundation of the blend.
Altar wine casks — one of the most unusual and distinctive cask types used by any Australian distillery. Altar wine — the fortified wine used in Catholic religious ceremonies — is typically a sweet, rich, and deeply flavoured wine that imparts a distinctive character of dried fruit, sweetness, and gentle spice to the whisky matured within it. The use of altar wine casks is a genuinely original and creative choice that speaks to the 5Nines philosophy of pursuing the unexpected in the service of perfection.
Apera casks — ex-Australian apera (the Australian term for sherry-style fortified wine) casks that contribute the characteristic dried fruit, nut, and spice complexity of sherry-style maturation, adding depth, richness, and the warm, rounded character that apera casks are celebrated for in Australian whisky production.
The marriage of these three cask types produces a whisky of smooth, well-rounded character that is greater than the sum of its parts — the vanilla and caramel of the bourbon casks, the dried fruit and sweetness of the altar wine casks, and the nutty, spiced complexity of the apera casks combining into a spirit of genuine harmony and distinction. The Hills Cask is never chill-filtered or flocked — a commitment to preserving the true depth of flavour and the natural texture of the spirit, ensuring that every drop in the bottle is as close to the whisky's natural character as possible.
How to Enjoy 5Nines Hills Cask
Best enjoyed neat in a Glencairn glass at room temperature — allow five to ten minutes to open before nosing, and add a few drops of still water if desired to release additional aromatic complexity. The Hills Cask is also outstanding over a single large ice cube, which slowly dilutes and opens the whisky's character over time. Never serve in a way that would mask the natural depth and complexity that the three-cask marriage and the non-chill-filtered bottling have preserved.
Explore our 5Nines Distilling range below and discover why this Adelaide Hills small-batch distillery — founded by two passionate craftsmen in pursuit of 99.999% perfection — is producing some of the most original and distinctive single malt whisky in South Australia.
