NZ Whisky Collection highest score in coveted Whisky Bible

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NZ Whisky Collection highest score in coveted London’s Whisky Bible

“One of the most poignant and enjoyable whiskies of the year”

Oamaru, New Zealand– Feb 23, 2015 – The New Zealand Whisky Collection’s 1988 has trumped a world-class field, with no southern hemisphere whisky ever scoring higher than the 96.5 points awarded in London’s revered Whisky Bible for 2015. "Superstar whiskies that give us all a reason to live," is Jim Murray's summation of this crafted Otago nectar.

"We salute the distillers who have maintained or even furthered the finest traditions of whisky making and taken their craft to the very highest levels... these whiskies are in my view the elite: the finest you can currently find on the whisky shelves of the world. Rare and precious, they are liquid gold," Murray adds.

Its famed author, Jim Murray, visited Dunedin over two decades ago. “When I first encountered this whisky it would have been a six-year-old and the Dunedin distillery had a very uncertain future,” says Murray. “Question marks hung over the quality of the stock, so they were a bit surprised when I assured them that the vast majority of what they were making was of very decent to high standard. Who then would have thought that some two decades on I would be tasting this as one of the most delicate and sophisticated and complex 25-year-olds imaginable?”

Considered the world’s leading whisky guide featuring 4,500 world-leading whiskies, the 2015 edition is being hailed the ‘most comprehensive whisky guide ever written’ with 1000 new whiskies included.

Murray adds, “One of the most poignant and enjoyable whiskies of the year. And memories of the only distillery I ever visited and then took a five minute drive to watch penguins surface from the sea.”

Not only does Murray have fond memories of Otago, but speaks highly of the 1988 after awarding it a score of 96.5; “deft peat forms the most delicate shell imaginable over no less fragile citrus. Soft salt, still a little grist after all these years, background vanilla: almost something akin to a moist lemon drizzle cupcake.”

This award winning 1988 vintage, forms the basis of the New Zealand Whisky Collection's 25-year-old, which was launched to much acclaim last year. New Zealand is only the third nation outside Britain to release a whisky of this maturation length. It joined a successful stable of single malt whiskies including Cyril Yate’s SingleWood and the Dunedin DoubleWood.

“We have the benefit of a fantastic legacy and history but owe thanks to those masterful distillers that produced this fine whisky. Without that we would not be in the position we are today. We have a very dedicated team and the future is very bright for NZ whisky,” says Grant Finn, Operations Manager.

The New Zealand Whisky Company is a success story that signals a revival of the whisky industry in New Zealand. The whisky was once distilled by Seagram’s in Dunedin before the distillery was sold to Fosters in 1997 as part of a global rationalisation. Fosters mothballed the distillery and inexplicably closed it.

Fortunately, more than 400 barrels of this whisky remained, and were bought by Greg Ramsay and a team of investors, known as the New Zealand Whisky Company. Set aside to mature and sweeten, since then, the company has worked hard to revive the century-old industry and the whisky has been met with wide acclaim. As well as regaining the foothold once held across New Zealand by Wilsons, the whisky is now exported from Oamaru and available across Canada, the UK, Australia and Europe.

More information about the New Zealand Whisky Company is available at www.thenzwhisky.com

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