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Our amazing client, Whipper Snapper Distillery, has just introduced Australia’s first Red Corn Whiskey. This new addition to their corn series highlights the many different varieties of maize and is the first of many to come.
This rare heirloom variety, also known as ‘Jimmy Red’, was a favorite among southern U.S. moonshiners in the early 1900s. Back in 2018, Whipper Snapper sourced this special variety from their legendary farmer, Christian Bloecker, who also grows their yellow corn variety at the Bothkamp family farm in Kununurra.
Congratulations to the team on this achievement! Insight Advisory Group is proud to have supported Whipper Snapper Distillery since it was a startup, being involved in the process and supporting their journey as they have grown and flourished.
For more information on this adventure, check out these articles: Kimberley Echo and ABC News.
Whipper Snapper Distillery’s Latest Announcement
“Incredibly, by simply changing the corn type, we see a significant flavor difference. Compared to the regular Upshot which uses yellow corn, red corn doesn’t carry the heavier vanilla or spice notes. A lighter, more gentle character carrying new honey, apple, and toffee flavors developed with a creamier mouthfeel.”
“This is the first red corn whiskey in Australia and, as always, it is perfect for enjoying across seasons and in good company.”
The Story Behind the Brew
A Perth-based distillery and a second-generation farmer from Western Australia’s far north have teamed up to create the first red corn whiskey in the country. The collaboration has seen rare, heirloom corn grown by Ord Valley farmer Christian Bloecker, picked and trucked more than 3,000 kilometers to Whipper Snapper for distilling, where it will be poured into American oak barrels and left to mature for the next two years.
Whipper Snapper Distillery managing director, Alistair Malloch, said the red corn whiskey was a chance to put unique West Australian produce on the map — from paddock to barrel.
“It’s the first we’re aware of it ever being done in Australia,” he said. “I found an obscure organic store in Queensland that had a small pack of 100 seeds and sent that to Christian in Kununurra. He’s a really innovative farmer and likes trying new things; over about a period of 18 months, he managed to get it to a stage where he got a total of 12 tonnes that he was able to harvest for us.”
An A-Maizing Partnership
Whipper Snapper Distillery has been using Kununurra maize to make their corn whiskey for several years. Mr. Bloecker, a second-generation farmer at Bothkamp Australia Farm, said the partnership was a natural fit.
“The Ord [Valley] is a very unique area and I think we’re used to trialing and doing different things as well,” he said. “We’ve got our commodity crops, like the maize, but then you always need to be looking for something new, and that’s where this comes in. We’ve got this beautiful, pristine soil, water, and plenty of sunshine; that’s the beauty of the Ord — the story behind it is as powerful as the deep red color of the corn.”
Mr. Bloecker said he was also trialing a range of other heirloom corn varieties on his farm. “We’ve also got some blue corn, green corn, some rainbow corn as well; it’s more just for a little bit of fun to see what’s doable up here,” he said. “We’ll see what the whiskey is like and go from there.”
A Bright Future Ahead
The president of the Australian Distillers Association, Stuart Gregor, said there were many creative ways distillers and local farmers were collaborating to create unique products. “At Four Pillars, we have developed a whole suite of products that are not necessarily gin, using our own waste at the distillery to feed livestock,” he said. “Every year we have a dinner which features some of the Gin Pigs reared in the Yarra Valley that eat our wasted botanicals. All of us who have some kind of relationship with the land are trying to get as closed circle as we possibly can.”
As for the next trending ingredient in the spirits industry, Mr. Gregor said bush foods like lemon myrtle, native finger limes, and native plums were becoming increasingly popular. He said at Four Pillars gin distillery in Victoria, they were already using 40 different indigenous Australian botanicals from farms across Australia. “We can also go to Indigenous communities, help to harvest some of the incredible bush foods that they’ve got, and turn them into great spirits,” Mr. Gregor said.
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