New $14m Callington Mill Distillery at Oatlands dubbed ‘safest and greenest’ in the world
The interstate developer of a new $14m state-of-the-art whisky distillery set to transform Tasmania says it will be the “safest and greenest in the world”. TAKE A TOUR INSIDE >>
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A NEW $14m state-of-the-art whisky distillery next to the historic Callington Mill at Oatlands will be one of the “safest and greenest” in the world, its founder says.
The Callington Mill Distillery is the brainchild of Sydney developer John Ibrahim who plans to invest a further $22m in bond rooms to store the whisky, a bottling plant, a Cooperage and other tourism ventures.
Mr Ibrahim plans to retire from his interstate based business interests and move permanently to Tasmania.
He has built the distillery, inspired by his close association with Tasmanian whisky pioneer Bill Lark, and other leading Tasmanian distillers.
“This is my love and passion and I will never sell,” Mr Ibrahim said.
“I am proud that this distillery is all Tasmanian made and is, in my opinion,the Rolls Royce of all distilleries and puts us on the world map.
“It is the safest in the world because we spared no expense in pursuing world best practices in engineering, design and innovation. Our goal is to be the greenest because we hope to be completely carbon neutral in a year.
“All raw ingredients used like barley and yeast is given to the local farmer to feed their cattle and pigs and our waste water will be treated, cleaned and used to irrigate the local golf course.”
Mr Ibrahim has renovated and refurbished the Callington Mill site including the historic windmill and has successfully combined the old buildings with his new distillery, which includes a restaurant, blending room and barrel room.
The mill buildings all have interpretative signs and videos tracing its history from when it was built in 1837 by John Vincent, who made flour and also had an illegal distillery on the side.
Mr Ibrahim is particularly pleased that the distillery has been engineered and “built in Tasmania by Tasmanians”.
“We looked overseas and came close to getting equipment from Italy but then we discovered Kolmart at Westbury,” he said.
“Mark Kolodziej is an engineer and when I met him I knew we were in safe hands and his work would lead us to a new era in whisky making in Tasmania for others to follow.”
A few years ago Mr Ibrahim said he realised “Tasmanian whisky is where Tasmanian wine was in 1985”.
“Look where Tasmanian wine is today. I think, per bottle it receives five times more export revenue than the wine on the mainland.”
Mr Lark has no doubt that Mr Ibrahim will produce “stunning whisky”.
“John has become a very passionate Tasmanian and I had faith in him from the early days because I had never met anyone who did the amount of research he did,” Mr Lark said.
“We are so very lucky to have him here and he is so passionate to do it well.
“He has created something very special for Tasmania and it is absolutely beautiful.”
Southern Midlands Council mayor Alex Green said the distillery would contribute not only to the local economy, but also the Tasmanian economy.
“The distillery will be a destination in itself,” Mr Green said.
“It will complement existing businesses and markedly increase visitation to the region as a whole.
“It has been designed and constructed to fit in extremely well with the heritage landscape and the village of Oatlands.”
The distillery is expected to employ about 30 staff and will open after Easter. There will be no entry charge to the heritage site and visitors can take paid unguided and guided tours of the distillery.
Meet the brainchild behind Tassie’s next big distillery
JOHN Ibrahim is untroubled that his namesake is a colourful Kings Cross identity.
He laughs it off, preferring to talk about his love for Tasmania and making whisky.
Mr Ibrahim, 60, could talk under wet cement about his new distillery.
“I’m not a big drinker and didn’t really drink until I was 25,” he explains.
The Lebanese-born father of five and grandfather graduated with a business degree and has worked in the petrol industry most of his life.
He first visited Tasmania in 1986 before buying historic Dysart House at Kempton.
‘I love the nature in Tasmania, the cleanest air, the cleanest water. It’s just serene,” he said.
“I’m a very simple person.
“I worked in petrol stations when I was 16. I bought my first franchise petrol station in 1985 and I started to build petrol stations and develop them with ancillary businesses, like fast food chains and gyms.
“I always wanted to be a farmer, but I know nothing about farming. So I thought I’d have some sort of hobby farm at Dysart House.”
Mr Ibrahim met Bill Lark, the pioneer of whisky in Tasmania, who wanted to have a distillery there.
“Bill came to me and said they want to do whisky distillery there. I didn’t take it seriously at all initially.
“Bill sent me a bottle of Tasmanian Single Malt, once I tasted it I was hooked. It was nothing like Johnnie Walker Black. I then instantly realised that something magical was happening in Tasmania.”
The pair became good friends, travelling overseas to look at distilleries.
He bought into Redlands and thus began an insatiable appetite with “everything whisky”.
He set up a distillery at Glenorchy, under Callington Mill licence, three years ago.
“At the risk of sounding cocky, I now have reassured myself, through people who have been a tremendous support, that we can confidently say that our whisky is on par with our colleagues in the Tasmanian whisky industry.
“My real fear was to let them down and I feel haven’t done that.
“I’d like to think that we’re helping transform the whisky industry landscape.”
Mr Ibrahim is drawn to the “degree of difficulty” in making whisky.
“It’s something that has to be made with love, time and patience.
“The other thing that I love about whisky is its simplicity. It is just barley, water, yeast (and) barrel.
“However, in that simplicity comes diversity, elegance and complexity.
“You’ve got science, you’ve got human intervention in the scientific process, and then you’ve got magic - the variables you cannot control - like the cool climate of Oatlands that imparts its influence on the final whisky’s character - giving birth to our DNA. That’s what I love - the journey - the mystery - the romance.”
susan.bailey@news.com.au
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