New Zealand’s largest distillery unveiled
Scapegrace Distilling Co has unveiled its brand-new state-of-the-art distillery near Cromwell
The $30 million project has been eight years in the making and will allow the brand a huge upscale in production, making 160,000 cases of single malt whisky each year, and enough gin and vodka to meet its long-term forecasts.
The distillery is 3,000sqm on a 36-hectare property next to Lake Dunstan, Central Otago, overlooking the lake and Mt Pisa. It includes a head office, bottling facility, warehousing, barrel hall, and newly completed distillery.
"Throughout our distillery design, there has been no corner cut and no stone unturned to ensure that we are following authentic and traditional methods, while also showcasing the very best of our distinct Scapegrace portfolio,” co-founder Daniel McLaughlin says.
Whisky production facilities at the new distillery include a purposely designed 5000L wash still and a 3500L spirits still from Speyside Copperworks, Scotland. The production will follow the full traditional method from grain to glass.
The white spirits still is a 3500L John Dore Copper Pot Still from London which was built in 1959 and has been fully restored by the team to its original state.
Scapegrace celebrated a decade of being in business in 2024, and McLaughlin says opening the distillery is the perfect way to celebrate 10 years of achievements.
"We began our journey in a small Grey Lynn office in Auckland 2014, and it's been an incredible adventure since, where this new facility is an end product of our commitment towards the future.
"Over the years, we’ve achieved global recognition, winning major international awards and last year we hit a major milestone as we sold more than 100,000 cases of product. We’re New Zealand’s largest spirits producer and we’re proud to be putting New Zealand spirits on the global map.”
McLaughlin says sustainability has been at the forefront of the distillery’s construction. Over 7,000 native bushes have been planted on-site as part of biodiversity and carbon offset efforts, and the distillery will be one of the few in the world to use hydro electricity to power their boiler instead of diesel, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.
He also highlighted the distillery’s focus on whisky, with their single malt whisky alone projected to generate an annual wholesale value of $33 million when running at full capacity.
“Our aim is to elevate New Zealand’s global profile as a producer of world-class spirits. Over the past 40-years we’ve seen New Zealand’s wine industry experience huge growth and that’s what we’re working to create for our spirits industry.”
The distillery is also set to provide a boost to the local economy, creating new jobs, with a hospitality offering to follow next.
“The Scapegrace journey is only just beginning. We’re looking forward to creating a truly remarkable hospitality destination in years to come, so everyone can experience the brand and products on this stunning site.”
The Scapegrace Distillery was designed by Nat Cheshire, Ascinda Stark and Emily Doll of world-renowned Cheshire Architects, known for leading the design of some of NZ’s most influential and impressive spaces. They have balanced urban design with the rural setting, while making it experiential, hospitable and epic in both scale and scope.
Scapegrace plans to open the distillery for public tours from late 2025.
