Introducing 'Bad Boy Billy'.
Local champions and champions of locals, the Bellarine Distillery, is finally releasing the first barrel of their Australian Single Malt Whisky this month in what will be the first whisky to be made in the Geelong region for almost 40 years.
The key takeaways
- The Bellarine Distillery announce first Single Malt Whisky release
- The whisky will be the first made in Geelong in 40 years
- Limited bottles will be available on Monday, April 26
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Also signifying the first whisky ever made on the Bellarine Peninsula, this whisky will be the first whisky to be made, matured and bottled in the Geelong region since the closure of Corio Distillery in the 1980s.
Keeping with the tradition of naming their products after the family’s four-legged friends, the honour of the first barrel ‘Bad Boy Billy’ goes to their adorable puppy, Billy the Staffordshire Terrier distillery dog.
While exciting for the Geelong region no doubt, this is a monumental effort from the Bellarine Distillery who was established back in 2015 by Russell Watson and Lorelle Warren with the dream of making a single malt whisky. They started commercial production in 2017 when Distillery Manager Craig Michael joined the team and in 2019 he and his wife Nicky came on board as business partners.
They say whisky’s best friend is time and the Whiskery certainly know it.
Lucky for the gin lovers in the region, whilst Bellarine Distillery’s much-anticipated whisky was maturing, the team were working on releasing their award-winning gin range under their label, Teddy and The Fox, as well as becoming a favourite local hot spot with its rustic cellar door. Aptly named The Whiskery, the cosy cellar door, tasting room and cafe opened early 2018 and is set on seven acres in the heart of the Bellarine and has allowed visitors to experience their award-winning gin, delicious cocktails and scrumptious local produce platters in a unique setting.
Rightly so, co-founder Russell Watson has been thrilled by the success of Bellarine Distillery & The Whiskery Venue.
“Since opening early 2018, the cellar door has proven to be a popular venue for visitors both local and far and wide, with our gin products now being sent all over Australia,” he says.
“However from the beginning, the dream was to produce our own single malt whisky, made, matured and bottled on the Bellarine.”
With that dream finally coming true, it’s even more special with the first batch of whisky coinciding with The Whiskery’s third birthday celebrations.
Bottles of ‘Bad Boy Billy’ will be made available to the public via the website on Monday 26th April at 3pm.
Set your alarms, with ‘Bad Boy Billy’ being a single cask release, it will produce a very limited number of bottles that will sell out.
