An array of accolades has been awarded to Pōkeno Whisky at The World Whisky Masters 2025, highlighting its innovation and difference.
Pōkeno Whisky has added to its growing global reputation for innovation and excellence by securing a Master and two Gold medals at The World Whisky Masters 2025.
The Master Medal, the highest honour in the competition, was awarded to the Winter Malt from Pōkeno’s special edition Exploration Series. Two of Pōkeno’s signature single malts, Origin and Discovery, received Gold Medals.
Chaired by The Spirits Business, with a panel of leading spirits specialists, The World Whisky Masters are part of a highly regarded series of blind-tasting competitions.
Pōkeno founder Matt Johns said the recognition supports the brand’s global growth, placing the whiskies amongst some of the world’s elite.
“We started Pōkeno with a goal to create great single malt whiskies that capture the essence of New Zealand and to share them on the global stage. Recognition from The Spirits Business supports our credibility when entering new overseas markets,” said Johns.
“We’re incredibly proud of our unique range of whiskies that we feel showcase the spirit of New Zealand, and it's brilliant to see them holding their own against some of the best and biggest names in the business.”
Johns added that it was also a great recognition of the team’s continued innovation and creativity when it comes to pushing boundaries to experiment with flavour and create world-class, but distinctly different, single malts.
It’s this drive to push boundaries that has led Pōkeno to experiment with native New Zealand woods. Last month, the distillery released a highly anticipated follow-up to its award-winning Totara Cask single malt, a kauri cask single malt, which sold out in record time.
“The Kauri Cask is the most original single malt we’ve ever made,” he added.
“Made from New Zealand barley, with New Zealand water and New Zealand wood, it's about as Kiwi as you can get.”
The timber came from a Pokeno local who had been storing the slabs in his shed for more than 30 years. Despite the brittle nature of the softwood, master cooper Mike Tawse was able to build a 160-litre barrel that was filled in October 2023 with three-year-old single malt, which had been distilled in June 2020.
"We didn’t quite know what to expect when we started this journey, and it certainly hasn’t been easy. It's taken years of patience and determination to get the whisky from barrel to bottle, but the result is something special.”
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