Kinglake builds Australia’s first underground warehouse
Victoria-based Kinglake Distillery has started construction on Australia’s first underground dunnage-style barrel store, marking a milestone for the country’s long-term whisky maturation.
In a bid to combat Australia’s warm, ambient temperatures that are often credited with dramatically accelerating the maturation of younger whiskies, Kinglake Distillery in Victoria has broken ground on what is said to be the country’s first underground dunnage barrel store.
Rapid maturation caused by Australia’s warmer climate causes the wood grain of the whisky casks to expand and the spirit to penetrate deep into the oak staves, extracting flavour, colour, and texture that can account for 60–70% of a whisky’s final character.
While this yields bold, flavour-forward whiskies in far less time than cooler regions like Scotland, the prolonged heat makes it difficult to achieve the balanced complexity needed for ‘truly great’ older expressions, as oak influence can quickly become overpowering.
To overcome this, Kinglake Distillery is taking a bold, long-term approach, which has seen the family-owned distillery construct a subterranean dunnage-style barrel store beneath the earth in the Kinglake Ranges.
The distillery has been inspired by traditional Scotch dunnage warehouses, which boast stable, naturally cool temperatures, high humidity from earthen influences, and dark conditions. By replicating this environment, this below-ground facility will dramatically slow maturation, preserve balance, and allow nuanced complexity to develop over decades rather than years.
Sam Lowe, co-owner of Kinglake Distillery, said: “While Australia’s climate gives us an edge for young, vibrant whiskies, true excellence demands patience and stability. By going underground, we’re recreating the ideal conditions for world-class aged single malts—cool, consistent, and protected – right here in our volcanic-soil bush setting.
“This is our commitment to producing whiskies that can stand alongside the finest 20-and 30-year-old Scotches.”
He added: “We make a very bold and characterful new make spirit, which lends itself well to younger whiskies packed full of character. This same new make should lend itself to multi-decade whiskies with enormous complexity.”
In addition to the slowing down of the maturation process, Lowe noted that the subterranean environment will also provide a layer of protection to the distillery’s stock, on account of the Kinglake region being “very bushfire prone”, having been an area devastated by Australia’s most lethal bushfire in 2010.
The project is said to draw on heritage techniques adapted to Australia’s unique environment, positioning Kinglake as a pioneer in sustainable, quality-driven maturation.
The build of the first underground warehouse is expected to be complete by late 2026, and will hold approximately 200 barrels. Lowe explained that with the distillery site sitting on 20 hectares of land, the intention is to start building a second dunnage warehouse once the first is at 75% capacity.
Kinglake whisky
Kinglake Distillery was founded in 2018 by Lowe and his wife Chantal Daniels. The distillery produces carbon-neutral single malt whisky using local spring water from Chyser Creek, with a focus on sustainability, natural, and unfiltered, high-quality spirits.
Together, the pair set out to make a single malt that was ‘discernibly different’ from other Australian whiskies, “something where regardless of barrel ageing, the characteristic Kinglake spirit could be picked out in a blind line up,” Lowe said.
Situated on the fringes of Kinglake National Park, the isolated off-grid location of the distillery, away from main roads, flight paths and housing, mean air pollution is low. Because of this, Kinglake is one of only a handful of distilleries using open ferments for its whisky wash.
“We are surrounded by towering Mountain Ash, Messmate and Peppermint gumtrees, and the air in hot weather is pungent with eucalyptus pollens. Our open ferments and open-door distilling allows all these natural pollens and yeasts to become part of the fermentation process.
“The final piece of the jigsaw in translating these local features into our new make spirit is our approach to distillation,” he added. “Our final cut runs deep into the tails or feints. This not only means that we harvest the maximum impact from the chocolate and peat in our four-grain mash-bill, but that all the richness and depth from foibles of using unfiltered water and open fermentations are given a chance to shine.”
Last year, the founder of Australian whisky brand Starward, Dave Vitale, shared why he believes the category can reach top status on the shelves of its home market – and possibly beyond.
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