Top 10 Distilleries in New Zealand
New Zealand's distilling history was largely dormant from the closure of the Willowbank Distillery in 1997 (which had produced the Lammerlaw and 45 South single malts) until the craft revival of the 2010s. The new wave of distilleries — building on excellent water, dramatic landscapes, and proximity to the Australian craft scene — has produced a handful of internationally awarded brands. The ten distilleries below can be found on the map.
1. Cardrona Distillery, Cardrona
Cardrona Distillery, founded 2014 in the Cardrona Valley near Wanaka in Otago, produces a single malt single grain whisky range that has won World Whiskies Awards multiple categories. The distillery's location at 800 metres in the Southern Alps gives unusually cool, dry maturation conditions.
2. Thomson Whisky, Auckland (matured in Riverhead)
Thomson Whisky has revived the New Zealand single malt category by sourcing legacy Willowbank casks alongside producing new spirit at the Riverhead distillery north of Auckland. The brand's bottlings of the old Lammerlaw stocks have particularly drawn international attention.
3. The Spirits Workshop, Christchurch
The Spirits Workshop in Christchurch produces gin, vodka, and craft whisky. The brand is one of South Island's most internationally visible craft distillers and represents the post-2011-earthquake reinvigoration of Christchurch's drinks scene.
4. Reefton Distillery, Reefton
Reefton Distillery in the West Coast gold-mining town of Reefton produces single malt whisky and craft gin. The water sourced from the surrounding native bush is the brand's central terroir story.
5. Wellington Whisky Distillery, Wellington
Wellington Whisky Distillery produces small-batch single malt whisky in the capital city. The distillery is one of the more recent additions to the New Zealand whisky map and represents the urban craft model.
6. Lighthouse Gin, Wellington
Lighthouse Gin, founded by the Greytown brand in Wellington, is one of New Zealand's bestselling craft gins. The brand's coastal botanical profile (with seaweed and coastal botanicals) builds on a Wellington maritime identity.
7. Strange Brothers, Christchurch
Strange Brothers in Christchurch produces gin and a range of experimental distillates. The brand is part of the South Island craft drinks ecosystem alongside breweries, wineries, and other distilleries in the region.
8. Scapegrace Distilling Co, Riverhead
Scapegrace, founded 2014 near Auckland, is the most internationally distributed New Zealand craft spirit brand. The Scapegrace Gold gin and the Black Gin (with butterfly pea flower) have built broad recognition; a single malt programme is in development.
9. Forty Spotted Distillery, Auckland
Forty Spotted produces gin in Auckland, named for a small New Zealand bird (the forty-spotted pardalote). The brand emphasises native New Zealand botanicals — kawakawa, manuka, horopito.
10. Otago Distillery, Dunedin
Otago Distillery in Dunedin produces single malt whisky and gin. The historical link to the South Island's Scottish settler heritage — Dunedin's name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Gaelic for Edinburgh — gives the brand a strong narrative.
A small but rapidly growing scene
New Zealand's craft spirits industry remains small but is growing fast, with new distilleries opening every year. The geographic spread — Otago, West Coast, Canterbury, Wellington, Auckland — gives the country a distillery in every major wine region. The map shows the spread, which has dense clusters around Wanaka, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.