Pōkeno Adds A Touch Of Magic To Its Award-Winning Core Range Of New Zealand Single Malts With Stunning Six-Barrel Trick

• Alchemy’ is the first addition to Pōkeno Whisky’s core range since 2022
• The innovative single malt carefully balances some of Pōkeno’s oldest whiskies, each fully matured on site in six different types of cask

Furthering its reputation for breaking new ground with world-class New Zealand single malts, Pōkeno Whisky has introduced the first new expression in its core range since launching in 2022: Pōkeno Alchemy.

For the past three years, Pōkeno has stayed true to its promise to push boundaries with innovative and unexpected special edition whiskies. Throughout this period, the core range has remained at three. Until now – with Alchemy the reward of both craft and patience.

Pōkeno Whisky founder and master distiller, Matt Johns, says Alchemy is their most complex and creative expression yet.

“The magic of Pōkeno Alchemy lies in the balancing of some of our oldest whisky that has been fully matured in six different casks. Through this unique approach we have created a single malt that layers the purity of our New Zealand spirit with intense levels of richness, smoothness and complexity unlike anything we’ve ever produced before.”

The six barrels comprise 30-year-old Pedro Ximenez Butts, PX Hogsheads, Tawny Port Barriques, Ruby Port Barriques and Light and Medium Charred Virgin American Oak casks – each contributing its own unique notes and depth within a multi-sensory tasting experience, says Johns.

“On the nose, ripe cherries and dark chocolate mingle with rich spices and gingerbread, layered with notes of sweet burnt toffee and mulled wine. These notes give way to ripe plum, blackcurrant jam and Black Forest Gateau in the mouth, leading into rich honey, caramel and vanilla beans and an extraordinarily long, rich and complex finish.”

To celebrate the originality of the whisky (and very much in line with the distillery’s history of creative collaborations), Pōkeno commissioned New Zealand street artist Koryu to design the artwork for the packaging – with a mural version now adorning one of the walls within the Pōkeno distillery.

Pōkeno Alchemy will be available in New Zealand from Saturday November 1 from Pōkeno’s online store, the Distillery Shop (open Saturdays) and through an exclusive retail partnership with Liquorland. It can also be purchased Duty Free from Auckland Airport and will be rolled out to international markets through 2026.

About Pokeno Whisky

Launched in 2022, Pōkeno is distributed worldwide to 30 countries, from the usual (US / Australia / UK) to the unexpected (Cambodia).

The distillery, which is focused uniquely on creating world-class New Zealand single malt whisky, has filled over 2800 barrels and packaged over 250,000 bottles.

It has won prestigious global awards for six of its whiskies, most notably with its Triple Distilled expression from the Exploration Series named World’s Best Single Malt at the 2024 San Francisco Spirits Awards.

Pōkeno continues to push boundaries of creativity through single cask special releases and collaborations. The craft distillery has firmly established Aotearoa on the world whisky map and brought coopering back to the country, recruiting Master Cooper Mike Tawse from Scotland, who has helped Pōkeno create the world’s first single malts finished in Totara and Kauri casks.

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