The Nugget: Ash Whitaker

Cardrona Distillery co-owner, Ash Whitaker’s business card reads simply: “Guardian of the Source”. This Tolkien-like statement says a couple of things.

Firstly that Ash holds great reverence for the process of making his artisan Source gin. Secondly that he’s not afraid to have a giggle, “the Source” being his play on “the sauce”- the colloquial Kiwi way of describing alcohol.

Hard work and having fun have always been Ash’s mantras. He left school at 14 to study at the University of Life which he graduated from with a degree in good times and even better yarns.

By age 21 he was running a trucking business, before a move to Wanaka where everything changed overnight when he met Desiree, the love of his life. Together they began a passionate love affair with an idea; to create an uncompromisingly authentic distillery in their beloved Cardrona Valley.

The dream was one thing, the reality another as Ash broke in the land over a winter that saw temperatures plummet to minus 15 degrees.

Mind you, that probably wasn’t quite as hard as making conversation with his father-in-law who had generously offered to help. Although, with his father-in-law cleverly stationing himself in a digger while dispatching Ash to the trenches, fair to say small talk was kept to a minimum - an arrangement both men were not entirely unhappy about.

These days the distillery offers handcrafted whisky, single malt vodka and local liqueurs - as well as their globally awarded Source gin. It’s vapour-distilled in an authentic London Dry style with a mixture of botanicals. These include rosehips foraged out the back, planted to prevent scurvy by Chinese miners in the 1880s - That’s ‘the good stuff’, Ash says.

Good for the environment too as he’s aiming for a totally sustainable distillery with zero waste. Even the spent grain goes to local livestock who can’t believe their luck.

On any given day Ash wears many hats, easily moving from the distillery to cocktail parties where he sometimes even remembers to take off his gumboots. He loves the versatility of 3 Wise Men gear including the shirt (The Ghost Ship $120 or 3 for $300), merino jersey (The Chester $130 or 3 for $300), jacket (The Windy $350), tan trou (Charlie chinos $120 or 3 for $300) and boots (The Bowie $250 or 2 for $333) he’s wearing here.

Yep, life’s pretty busy for our Ash. But he’s never too tired to hang out with daughter Reid and son Ritchie who, contrary to what Ash’s mates reckon, was named after his grandfather and not a certain half-decent South Island footy player. For this and other tall tales, pop in and see him if you’re passing through the Cardrona Valley. Here are a few conversation starters if you do.