Our People

I founded the Pōkeno Whisky Company with a vision to help put New Zealand on the map as a whisky producing nation; and to use all of our experience to create some of the world's greatest single malts.

This is a passion project, and I am fortunate to have alongside me a team of equally passionate and creative people. We are all incredibly dedicated, and we craft our spirit with no compromise or shortcuts.

More importantly we have a lot of fun while living out our dream.

Deciding to build our own distillery to celebrate the fantastic natural attributes of this wonderful country is the adventure of our lives. From the rugged beauty of its landscapes to the community spirit of its people, New Zealand is a truly inspiring place to call home. I am so happy that we can now share a taste of this most magical place through our wonderful single malts. Welcome to the adventure!

From helping my grandfather make wine as a young boy, I developed a love for brewing and distilling, which developed from a passion into a profession. As a proud son of the mighty Waikato, I am stoked to be able to pursue both here at Pokeno so close to home.

Having followed in my Father’s footsteps, I too trained to become an experienced cooper. This age-old tradition involves building and rejuvenating wooden casks to mature whisky. I am delighted to be re-introducing this unique craft back into New Zealand, and helping the team to distil our fantastic single malts.

After a long time working in hospitality, I have dedicated myself to learning every nerdy detail about whisky. Now with my feet firmly planted in Pokeno, I love nothing more than sharing my passion for our homegrown treasure with our friends around New Zealand and beyond.

I have been a passionate beer and whisky enthusiast all of my adult life, and like the rest of us here, I am lucky enough to have been able to make a career out of a passion. As distiller, I love getting to hone my craft, making great whisky at New Zealand’s biggest single malt distillery.