The Story
Belgrove Rye Whisky began life as a windbreak for strawberries. When Peter Bignell grew a bumper crop from a field of rye normally used as a windbreak, the Tasmanian farmer, ice sculptor and biofuel expert decided to make the world’s only paddock-to-bottle 100 per cent rye whisky. No still? No problem. Bignell collected some unused copper from a neighbour’s property and just built one himself. And so began the story of the Belgrove Distillery, considered by many to be the world’s greenest.
Bignell now produces a range of unorthodox whisky and spirits. From Oat Whisky (one of our favourites), to heavily peated rye and malt whiskies, smoked whiskies – including the infamous Wholly Shit Rye Whisky – distilled ginger beer, pommeau, even coffee liqueurs. But it was rye whisky that started it all, and that rye has since gone on to receive some of the world’s top accolades for its completely unique flavour.
To power the still that captures this flavour, Bignell collects spent chip oil from local cafes and service stations and converts it into biodiesel. The malting, fermentation and barrel-aging of Bignell’s spirits happens on-site with recycled materials wherever possible – his malting drum is a repurposed launderette dryer, to give you an idea of how creative Bignell gets.
The whole operation is so innovative and progressive that Bignell and his rye whisky have now featured in the world’s most prestigious drinks publications, and distilleries from all over the world are taking note of this Tasmanian pioneer’s remarkable approach to whisky production.
Whiskies Reviewed:
Core range:
Belgrove Rye Whisky (2018 bottling)
Limited releases:
Belgrove Peated Rye Whisky (2020 bottling)
Belgrove Rye Whisky T-Bone Stout Cask
Independent Bottlings:
Heartwood “Heartgrove#1” Muscat/Sherry Cask
Spirit Thief Distilling Co. Belgrove French Oak Mataro
Spirit Thief Distilling Co. Belgrove Peated Cabernet Sauvignon French Oak Cask Finish
That Boutique-y Whisky Company Belgrove Distillery Rye Whisky 4 Year Old (Batch 1)