We got a couple of new arrivals from Thomson Distillery recently and it reminded me that I wanted to talk about this whisky maker for a while now.
Partly because New Zealand whisky deserves more attention, and Thomson Distillery is a very good place to start. Also because, if you can’t talk about whisky you like, then you’re doing a whisky blog wrong, aren’t you?
So here’s the first instalment in a series where I showcase distilleries that I think are cool. They might not be the biggest, the loudest, the ones with visitor centres that look like Bond villain wellness retreats. They will always be distilleries that do interesting, distinctive, flavour-led things that make us want to pour a dram and talk to/at/with people.
So, first up, Thomson Distillery.
Meet Mathew and Rachael Thomson
Meet the Thomsons
The Thomsons are not the aliases of The Simpsons on the run from Sideshow Bob, but Mathew Thomson and Rachael Thomson*. Less rakes, more whisky. They founded Thomson Whisky in 2009 in Riverhead, north-west of Auckland. The business remains independent and 100% New Zealand owned.
The spark came earlier. Mathew had been experimenting with home distilling and smoking barley. You know, the way you build the foundations of a whisky distillery? By 2005, manuka wood had become his focus. It’s local, it has a distinctive flavour, and it gives whisky a point of difference from peat.
That’s how it began. A side project forged on the family barbecue and in a spare room in Auckland. The only driver, a love of whisky and a penchant for experiments.
From Willowbank to Riverhead
Another passion project that predated the distillery was preserving another important chapter in New Zealand whisky. Thomson Whisky had an intermediate period of bottling and blending, selecting old stock from Willowbank Distillery in Dunedin, which closed in 1997. The Thomsons saw an opportunity to bottle whisky New Zealanders could be proud of and reasoned that, if nobody bought it, they could drink it themselves. Tragically for them, people did buy it.
That independent bottling chapter helped Thomson build credibility as well as a useful grounding in mature whisky before it began producing its own spirit. In 2014, Thomson launched its production distillery with a 900-litre hand-beaten copper pot still from Portugal. The distillery was set up at Hallertau Brewery on the outskirts of Auckland, with an expert brewing team next door, access to good water, quality malted barley, and a ready supply of fresh casks from New Zealand wineries.
That set-up shaped the house style. Thomson was not trying to recreate Scotch whisky in the Southern Hemisphere. It had its own raw materials, its own cask culture, its own smoke source, and its own perspective. Those who thought they were nuts to even pursue this path initially were soon quietened. All that tinkering, working and building, led to them giving up the day jobs and creating some of the most interesting whiskies on the market today. Not because they come from somewhere “unusual”. Plenty of whisky comes from unexpected places now. It is interesting because it tastes connected to where it comes from. It’s young, yes. Still evolving, absolutely. But there is personality here.
A standout in the Kiwi whisky scene
The Thomson Distillery ethos
Today, the distillery has a range of single malts that posses a sense of place. Lots want to claim that unofficial designation of doing things the right way, less make the mark. Here’s why Thomson does.
The water comes from pure rainwater that filters through the Waitākere Ranges before reaching the distillery. The barley is 100% New Zealand grown, sourced from the fertile Canterbury plains. The yeast strains are selected by Mathew and Rachael Thomson. The smoke comes from native manuka wood or South Island peat. Dave Broom in the third edition of his essential The World Atlas of Whisky (2024) writes that New Zealand peat is typically comprised of sphaghum moss, wire rush sedge, flax, shrubs (manuka and eucalyptus alike) and Ericaceaem or heath or heather family – ember-like aromatic/resinous and earthy.
At its heart are two idiosyncratic stills, both direct fired, both shaped by Mathew Thomson’s hands-on approach to distilling. The first began life as a Hoga, a small copper pot still with a rounded, bulbous belly since modified. Thomson cut off the original neck, fitted a more conventional one, and added a cooling tube into the lyne arm to encourage reflux. It imploded once. Beside it sits the larger still, designed by Thomson when the distillery needed to scale up. At 1,900 litres, it has a straight-sided, flat-bottomed form, an induction jacket, a rummager, and a head reminiscent of 19th century Irish still design. Its lyne arm slopes gently upwards. Maturation occurs in a mix of full size and small casks, the spirit enters at 56% ABV and the casks are not fully filled to allow for increased oxidation.
A cut above the rest
The world has been waking up to the Thomsons for some time. Speciality Brands began distributing Thomson in the UK in 2025, placing the New Zealand whisky maker alongside Nikka, Michter’s, Kavalan, and Starward in its world whisky portfolio.
Drinkers who already understand that great whisky does not need a Scottish postcode are flocking to the Thomson smoke signals. The Heart Cut decided to give itself a second birthday present with its first ever New Zealand whisky releases, both from Thomson Distillery. These are also the first New Zealand whiskies to be released by an independent bottler outside New Zealand, and the new arrivals on our virtual shelves I referenced earlier.
The Heart Cut #18 showcases Thomson’s manuka-smoked single malt, bringing the global tradition of smoky whisky into very different territory. The Heart Cut #19 leans into New Zealand’s winemaking heritage, with whisky aged entirely in a fresh Pinot Noir cask from Westbrook Winery in Waimauku. You can purchase them both, and the rest of the range, below.
Thomson Distillery Whisky
Thomson Manuka Smoke
Thomson Manuka Smoke is probably the clearest expression of what makes this distillery different and makes you recalibrate your idea of what smoke in whisky can do. Made with New Zealand barley smoked using native manuka wood, it delivers smoke with a herbal, resinous, spiced character rather than the medicinal or coastal peat profile many whisky drinkers know from Scotland.
Thomson South Island Peat
Thomson South Island Peat takes 100% New Zealand barley and brings South Island peat into the mix. Matured in bourbon casks, it offers a lively, greener, more modern take on smoky single malt, with herbal smoke, maritime touches, vanilla sweetness, and bright malt at its core.
Thomson Two Tone
Thomson Two Tone gets its name from its cask make-up, bringing together whisky aged in red wine casks and bourbon barrels. That combination gives you fruit, spice, vanilla, oak, and a little Kiwi sea air, all working together rather than elbowing each other in the ribs. Something distinctive without diving straight into smoke.
Thomson Full Noise Limited Edition
Thomson Full Noise does what it says on the bottle. Made from 100% manuka-smoked barley, aged in American oak, and bottled at cask strength, it takes the distillery’s signature smoke profile and turns the dial up. At 52% ABV, this has more intensity, more grip, and more swagger.
Thomson Whisky New Zealand Single Malt Bourbon Cask 2019, The Heart Cut #18
The Heart Cut #18 is a single cask release from Thomson Distillery, distilled from 100% New Zealand barley smoked with native manuka wood and matured in a bourbon cask. Just 270 bottles were released, bottled at 50.8% ABV.
Thomson Whisky New Zealand Single Malt Pinot Noir Cask 2019, The Heart Cut #19
The Heart Cut #19 is the second of the duo, and it heads straight into New Zealand wine country. This single malt was aged entirely in a fresh Pinot Noir cask from Westbrook Winery in Waimauku, filled with whisky the day after the wine was emptied. It was bottled at 51.5% ABV, with only 412 bottles released.
* No relation to the Thompson Bros at Dornoch Distillery. Note the lack of a “P” in the name.
