Broken Chain Single Malt Whisky

Ask a dozen people what success represents to them, and you will receive a dozen answers. However, they will all agree that the journey is never what you expect. 

When our good friend, Mikey Hilburger, asked for help extracting a barrel of whisky from an infamous Tasmanian distillery, we saw an opportunity, not only to help a mate make his dreams become reality, but to create something truly special. After five and a half years locked away in Van Deiman’s land, the whisky in the 100L ex-port cask needed liberation and this is where the Tales of the Broken Chain began. The whisky arrived as a ray of hope for us in the dark days of the pandemic, and on that day, we were inspired.

The next stage of this spirit’s evolution was to bring vibrancy, exuberance and youth, something our Jamaican-inspired rum, aged in ex-chardonnay French oak casks, had in spades. By ageing each spirit in the other’s barrel, the result was two one-of-a-kind products which showcased how different spirits can take on each other’s characteristics and transform them into something truly unique.

The plan was to dilute and bottle these products in March 2022, for release in April, but fate had other ideas. The flood waters ravaged Brisbane and inundated the warehouse, destroying the rum. For the first rum produced in Milton in over 130 years to be ruined by the same forces which closed the original Milton Distillery is a special kind of irony. Thankfully, the whisky was salvaged from the wreckage. 

This whisky tells the tale of two historical distilleries, of camaraderie and of a community’s strength through pandemics, floods, and upended vats of rum. This whisky is all that remains of the Tales of the Broken Chain, a project which holds a special place in our heart as both a celebration and a commemoration.

It is a privilege to release this beautiful spirit, which is both our finest achievement to date and an embodiment of the hardship and adversity endured by all those who achieve success.