The Clean Taste Of New Zealand With Broken Shed Vodka

Cocktails Distilled

When you think of New Zealand, you probably think of extensive green hills and forests full of lush vegetation. But Mark Simmonds, one of the three founders of Broken Shed would also like you to think about the purity that can be achieved in a distilled Vodka.
Launching in 2009, Broken Shed has brought the future to Vodka drinkers around the globe and shown that with a little New Zealand ingenuity an amazing liquid can be created from only three ingredients (two of which are water).
We talk to Simmonds about the purity of water, whether whey really is the way and how difficult it has been for a New Zealand brand on the global spirits stage

Capitoli

1. The Clean Taste Of New Zealand With Broken Shed Vodka (00:00:00)

2. How did two Americans end up drinking in a rustic shed near Lake Wanaka? (00:01:33)

3. The important question I think would be what were they drinking? (00:02:21)

4. I was about to ask, how did you get involved? (00:02:56)

5. Now, you have 30 years in the industry. Had either of them been in the spirits or hospitality industry before? (00:03:53)

6. What was it about vodka that made them decide to go with that particular spirit? Because they could have done whiskey, they could have done gin. What was it about vodka? (00:04:56)

7. You've talked about the product going into the US. How has the response in the US actually been to it? (00:06:02)

8. How difficult has it been to get across the nation? (00:07:18)

9. Let's talk little bit about the vodka itself. I believe you spent a year in development. Tell us about that. (00:08:57)

10. And what ended up being the solution? (00:11:10)

11. You're using water from two different sites, locations. What is it about those two particular water sources that makes them stand out? (00:12:59)

12. Going back to 2009 when you were doing this, whey wouldn't have been a common base for vodka at that point. What made you think to move away from grain and experiment with whey? (00:15:30)

13. Where does the whey actually come from? Are you collaborating with local dairy farmers? (00:17:40)

14. Tell us a little bit about the distillation. Is it harder or easier to distill with whey than it is with grain maybe? (00:18:30)

15. If someone hasn't tasted a whey vodka before, you mentioned that it tastes very clean, but what else will they notice about the flavour? (00:19:29)

16. Do you think that the sustainability of whey vodkas are very much the future? (00:20:28)

17. Now, talk to us a little bit about the filtration (00:22:46)

18. You've pointed out that Broken Shed very much does have a subtle flavour to it. Where do you think that comes from more, the water or the whey? (00:23:43)

19. You mentioned earlier that a lot of people have mentioned a creaminess to the vodka. Considering that, what cocktails do you believe it works best in? (00:24:39)

20. Does the brand have a signature serve? (00:25:26)

21. I imagine you've put the vodka in front of a fair number of bartenders over the years. What are some of the more unusual cocktails that they've been able to make with Broken Shed? (00:25:52)

22. Speaking of things that are new, what are you guys concentrating on at the moment? (00:26:46)

23. Obviously the vodka is available across New Zealand. How far across the US have you managed to get? (00:27:39)

24. Are you available anywhere else? Europe? (00:28:24)

25. What is it that you want people to take from their experience with Broken Shed? (00:28:59)