Cardrona Distillery is nestled in the Cardrona Valley of New Zealand's Crown Range mountains, a place the distillery describes as defined by patience and extremes. It crafts award-winning Single Malt Whisky, Vodka, Gin and Liqueurs, made by hand, slowly, and with close attention to quality, using equipment sourced from around the world.
The distillery was founded by Desiree Reid, who set out to make a New Zealand single malt whisky that could stand tall on the international stage. Starting in 2011, she spent two and a half years researching in Scotland and the United States before selling her farming business in 2013 to move to Wanaka and find the distillery site at Cardrona. After a four-year process to gain permission to build in an area of outstanding natural beauty, the distillery was completed in 2015, with spirit flowing for the first time on 23 October 2015 and the first cask laid on 5 November 2015.
Today, visitors can explore the distillery through tours, food and cocktails, browse the range of Single Malt Whisky, Vodka (The Reid), Gin (The Source) and limited edition liqueurs (Rose Rabbit), and join the Cardrona Club, a community for discerning drinkers and spirit lovers who value craftsmanship, beauty, tradition and quality.
Cardrona Distillery sits in the Cardrona Valley, high in New Zealand's Crown Range mountains, a place shaped by extreme seasonal temperature variations and a pristine, remote environment. It's here that the distillery crafts award-winning Single Malt Whisky, Vodka, Gin and limited edition Liqueurs, made by hand and slowly, with equipment sourced from around the world.
The distillery is the work of Desiree Reid, who set out to build a New Zealand single malt whisky capable of standing tall on the international stage. Starting in 2011, she spent two and a half years researching in Scotland and the United States, building both technical know-how and marketing insight. In May 2013, she sold her farming business and moved to Wanaka, eventually finding the distillery site at Cardrona.
Getting permission to build in an area of outstanding natural beauty in the Southern Alps took four years of tenacity and dedication. The distillery was finally built in 2015, and on 23 October that year, spirit flowed for the first time. The first cask was laid less than two weeks later, on 5 November 2015. Establishing the distillery in such a remote, climatically extreme location was a deliberate choice — one that has shaped the character of Cardrona's spirits ever since, and helped spearhead the revival of whisky production in New Zealand.
Cardrona's core whisky range includes The Falcon, available in both 700ml and 375ml formats, alongside an American Barrel expression, a Sherry Cask single cask release, and an Otago Pinot Cask finish. For something rarer, The Kārearea Project is a single cask whisky matured in a port barrel. Beyond whisky, the distillery also produces The Reid, a single malt vodka, The Source, a single malt gin, and Rose Rabbit, a range of limited edition liqueurs.
Visitors to Cardrona Distillery can go beyond simply buying a bottle. The site offers tours, food and cocktails, giving guests a chance to experience the distillery itself rather than just its products. For regular customers, the Cardrona Club offers membership to a community of discerning drinkers, spirit lovers and advocates of craftsmanship, beauty, tradition and quality.
Cardrona Distillery is open seven days a week, from 9:30am to 7pm. Located in the Cardrona Valley in the Crown Range mountains, it remains closely tied to the landscape that shaped its founding, and continues to build on Desiree Reid's original vision of a world-class New Zealand single malt.