With a production philosophy of 'no compromise on quality,’ the Cardrona Distillery team is dedicated to developing its solid portfolio of premium spirits. Sourced from the Southern Alps, at the heart of Mount Cardrona, the distillery produces some of New Zealand's finest spirits.
We spoke with Dunedin born and bred, Sarah Elsom, the Master Distiller at Cardrona, who manages the production and the team and works on moving the grain to the glass.
Elsom has learned a lot from Cardronas's fearless leader, CEO and Managing Director, Desiree Reid. “Cardrona Distillery is the brainchild of Desiree's vision, and the many years of travel and research she took on before breaking ground on our custom-built Distillery,” Elsom expressed.
Elsom pursued a degree in Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University and used her degree as a ticket to travel the world of wine. On returning home from Canada in 2014, Elsom saw an opportunity in the nearby Distillery being built just 20 minutes from her hometown Wanaka.
She was first hired as a Distillery hand and began digging in the irrigation for the estate-grown perfumery roses whilst the Distillery was being built. Fascinated by this new extension of fermentation, there was no looking back. Five years on, Elsom is now the Master Distiller of the Cardrona Distillery and told us she feels incredibly grateful to work with such a passionate and engaged team.
Cardrona Distillery has taken leaps and bounds towards a more sustainable future. Elsom told us that all of Cardrona's draff is a valuable bi-product and fed to cattle and deer residing in the neighbouring paddocks. Cardrona also uses locally sourced seasonal ingredients to produce its exceptional and unparalleled signature taste.
In addition to these efforts, the distillery's water use is largely borrowed, and if they can use it again, they will. The water exiting the heat exchanger is directed back to hot liquor tanks to provide the volume required for second and third waters. After removing heat energy from the hot wort, it is too valuable to send down a drain. Steam condensate flows back to the boiler, and the warm water exiting condensers is directed towards underfloor heating before being collected, passively cooled, and returned to the river.
Cardrona Distillery collects and spreads the spent liquid from wash distillations on the neighbouring paddocks or offers it as supplementary animal feed in winter. It is a fantastic fertiliser and source of nutrition. As their production increases, there is an opportunity to consider biomass conversion for electricity. CO2 recovery, solar panels on new warehouses, an electric fleet. We have a good foundation and now need to look at how we define our sustainability vision, our goals and how we can integrate that vision into the big decisions moving forward.
Elsom told us that with the Covid-pandemic it has been challenging, foot traffic has slowed considerably, but they have remained optimistic. They know they have a quality product in both their spirits and the Cardrona experience, which they are very much looking forward to sharing both once restrictions ease.
“Cardrona is our heartland. We are so lucky to showcase how our spirits are made and in such a unique location."
