Kinglake Distillery — Victorian Single Malt from the Mountain
Kinglake Distillery is one of Victoria's most distinctive and uncompromising craft whisky producers — a small, passionate distillery located in the Kinglake Ranges northeast of Melbourne that produces single malt whisky of extraordinary character, provenance, and depth. With a philosophy built on knowing the origin of every ingredient, using water from a mountain stream rising on the distillery property, and crafting every aspect of the whisky from scratch with a level of hands-on involvement that is rare even in the craft distilling world, Kinglake produces whiskies that are a genuine and authentic expression of their remarkable Victorian mountain environment.
Philosophy & Provenance
The Kinglake philosophy is one of total provenance and complete involvement. The distillery makes all of its whisky from scratch — from the moment the malt is ground until the new spirit finally fills the barrel, the team at Kinglake is in close and personal contact with every stage of the process. This is not merely a marketing position: it is a genuine commitment to understanding and controlling every variable that influences the character of the final whisky.
This commitment to provenance extends to every ingredient. 80% of the barley used at Kinglake is farmed and malted in New South Wales, sourced from growers who are personally known to the distillery — a relationship of trust and transparency that ensures the quality and character of the grain is understood from the paddock to the still. The remaining malt includes a heavily peated malt from the Scottish Borders — a deliberate and distinctive choice that brings a traditional Scotch whisky character to the Kinglake mash bill and contributes the smoky, earthy complexity that is one of the distillery's most distinctive signatures.
The water used at Kinglake is perhaps the most extraordinary element of the distillery's provenance story. The single malt is made from a mountain stream that rises on the distillery property itself — natural, pure, and totally unfiltered. This is water of extraordinary purity and character, filtered through the ancient granite and basalt of the Kinglake Ranges and carrying the mineral signature of the mountain environment directly into the whisky.
Equipment & Production
Kinglake's copper pot still was handmade by Knapp Lewer — Tasmania's premier still-maker and one of the most respected craftspeople in the Australian distilling industry. The mash bill at Kinglake is one of the most distinctive in the Australian whisky industry — a blend of four different malts, three sourced from Griffiths in New South Wales (one roasted to chocolate malt for depth and colour), and one heavily peated malt from the Scottish Borders. The cuts at Kinglake are deliberately deep — a conscious choice to retain the heavier, oilier fractions of the distillate that produce a whisky of greater weight, texture, and flavour intensity.
Our Range
Kinglake O'Grady's Stand Single Malt 500mL — 46% ABV — The flagship expression of Kinglake Distillery. Made from the four-malt mash bill, distilled in the handmade Knapp Lewer copper pot still, and aged in small-format Kentucky ex-bourbon barrels re-coopered in Australia. Deep cuts produce a heavy, oily spirit of genuine weight and character — bottled at 46% ABV without chill-filtration.
Kinglake Full Noise Cask Strength 500mL — 61% ABV — The O'Grady's Stand taken to its most intense and uncompromising expression — bottled at cask strength without dilution or chill-filtration, delivering the full, undiluted character of the whisky exactly as it emerges from the barrel. Best enjoyed neat with a few drops of still water to open its extraordinary aromatic complexity.
Kinglake Single Malt French Oak 500mL — 46% ABV — A distinctive expression of the Kinglake house style finished in French oak, adding layers of spice, dried fruit, and refined wood character to the distillery's signature mountain provenance. Bottled at 46% ABV without chill-filtration.
Kinglake Breakfast Rye Cask Single Malt 700mL — 46.1% ABV — Matured in rye casks, this expression brings a distinctive spice and grain complexity to the Kinglake character — a bold and original release that showcases the distillery's willingness to explore unconventional maturation. Bottled at 46.1% ABV.
Kinglake In The Blood Red Gum Finish Single Malt 700mL — 46% ABV — One of the most pioneering expressions in the Kinglake range, finished in local native Australian Red Gum timber — a genuinely original approach that produces a whisky of a character unlike anything produced anywhere else in the world. A landmark release for Australian whisky.
How to Enjoy Kinglake Whisky
All Kinglake whiskies are best enjoyed neat in a Glencairn glass at room temperature — allow five to ten minutes to open before nosing. The O'Grady's Stand, French Oak, Breakfast Rye Cask, and In The Blood expressions are outstanding neat or with a few drops of still water. The Full Noise at 61% ABV benefits from a small addition of still water to open its full aromatic complexity. None of these whiskies should be served over ice, which would mask the extraordinary depth and character that the mountain stream water, the four-malt mash bill, and the deep cuts have produced.
Explore the full Kinglake Distillery range below and discover why this Victorian mountain distillery is producing some of the most distinctive and authentic single malt whisky in Australia.
