A Kempton whisky distiller garners high praise for premium drop

A TASMANIAN whisky has been named the best in the Southern Hemisphere in a respected whisky bible.

Kempton distiller Peter Bignell took out Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year for his Belgrove Peated Rye Whisky. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

A TASMANIAN whisky has been named the best in the Southern Hemisphere in a respected whisky bible.

The 2019 edition of Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible contains an Australian section and Tasmanian distiller Peter Bignell took out Southern Hemisphere Whisky of the Year for his Belgrove Peated Rye Whisky.

One review in the bible described the Peated Rye as “unquestionably stupendous” with “one of the most distinctive and beautiful noses of the year”.

Belgrove Distillery, at Kempton in Tasmania’s midlands, uses a copper still made by Bignell which runs on a biofuel made from used cooking oil from a nearby roadhouse.

“Belgrove Distillery is a closed loop operation, the only significant material I bring to the farm is a waste cooking oil, spent mash is fed to the sheep on the property and the main product to leave is premium Tasmanian whisky,” Mr Bignell said.

“To be included in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible is a huge honour for Belgrove and a testament to the innovation employed in producing our premium product.”

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GLOBAL HONOUR FOR LOCAL WHISKY DISTILLER

Now in its 16th year, Murray’s Whisky Bible is said to be the most comprehensive and thoroughly researched series of whisky tasting notes and scores.

The 2019 edition, released on Friday, contains tasting notes for more than 4600 whiskies from around the world.