METICULOUSLY CRAFTED
A NEW BREED OF WHISKEY

We only release whiskey we want to drink. Full stop. And we want variety … isn’t that what the craft movement is all about? Small batches, hand made from scratch. All our whiskey is made on site at the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley: starting with the best malted barley chosen from dozens available at our Brewhouse, through fermentation, distillation, and warehousing, to bespoke bottling and packaging.

In the end, if you take our prescription to enjoy a thoughtful moment with a glass of Two Doctors Whiskey, then we will have succeeded. Join us as we share the gift of time. When you think about it, whiskey is concentrated sunshine. Thanks photosynthesis.

We hope it makes you glow.

CRAFTING OUR PREMIUM WHISKEY

The process of making any whiskey is relatively straightforward in principle, refined over millennia. It’s the many hundreds of individual technical variables and choices under the control of the distiller along with natural forces outside of our control
that distinguish one whiskey from another.
Art and science.

There are five main stages required to convert sunlight into liquid gold Two Doctors Whiskey.

SOURCING THE BEST BARLEY

First, we start with Weyermann Extra Pale Premium Pilsner malted barley. Malting begins with dry barley grains soaked in water, leading to their germination. This process releases stored starches from the grain to form soluble sugars and enzymes.

THE CRAFTSMANSHIP BEGINS

Second, we grind the malted barley in a Hungarian Robix mill to produce a coarse flour called grist.

The grist is transferred to a stainless-steel hot water tank called a mash tun. Our semi-lauter mash tun produces 2-3 mashes per week, each with a batch size of 1300 Kg. Continuous stirring of the grist creates a consistency of porridge while encouraging dissolution of soluble sugars.

FERMENTATION MASTERY

The third crucial step, where starches are converted to alcohols, is called fermentation. The sweet porridge-like liquid called wort is first filtered to clarity, cooled and pumped into a stainless-steel vessel called a washback (1 x 8,000L and 3 x 2000L, each glycol jacket temperature-controlled). Fermentation over 4-5 days begins with the addition of SafSpirit™ USW-6 Fermentis yeast.

DOUBLE DISTILLATION BEGINS

The fourth step is double distillation of the products of fermentation, which is now called the wash. In distillation our goal is to “wash” out the impurities and concentrate the ethanol through the application of heat using all-copper pressure vessels called stills. The still design evolved in collaboration with Mr Peter Bailly of Knapp Lewer Contracting P/L in Tasmania, who then fabricated them.

We visited Hobart in 2012/13 to check on the progress of our precious copper assets. The stills were manufactured to our specifications and assembled on site in December 2013. Our goals in still design were to achieve a gentle spirit which retained a fruity, balanced malt-driven ‘new make’ of exquisite purity.

PERFECTION IN BOTTLING

The fifth and final step before bottling is to dilute the new make spirit to ~62.5% with pure water prior to filling into oak casks. Barrels are stored in our dunnage and racked warehouses where they are left to mature in tranquility for a minimum of three years.

Our traditional process epitomises hand-made craft whiskey.

HOW THE DOCTORS ENJOY TWO DOCTORS WHISKEY

Two Doctors Whiskey is released at “distillers strength”. Here’s what we mean. Although our casks are routinely filled with double distilled clear alcohol at ~63% ABV, over time that percentage can change. When a cask sample meets our desired level of maturation after many years, we then undertake a series of taste and sensory assessments at a range of dilutions. Our whiskey is bottled at the optimum alcohol percentage that maximises the connoisseur’s desire to enjoy their glass at near-cask strength while accommodating everyone’s palate. Distiller’s strength is the way each whiskey from a single cask is meant to be poured.

When drinking neat Two Doctors Whiskey we always recommend adding a few drops of pure water to your tumbler. Ice is optional. Please consume Two Doctors Whiskey thoughtfully and in moderation. Take your enjoyment to excess.