WHISKY DISTILLERY TO OPEN ON THE KIEWA RIVER

Whisky distillery to use rivers' sweet water which has its source just above Falls Creek

Melbourne-based Highland Valley Whisky has announced it will build a distillery close to the Kiewa River at Mt Beauty after analysing the water. The person who chose the location for the company, Mr Rod Salfinger, said:"Whilst the distillery would use the macho image of the high country cattlemen to promote their whisky, it is the water in the Kiewa River which is the most important element.

"Water is a very important part of the whisky making process. The Aboriginal name for Kiewa is 'sweet water' which makes the water from the Kiewa very suitable for our whisky."

Bushwalkers who visit the high country resort of Falls Creek in the summer months, and meander along the Grey Hills walking track (which leads to Spion Kopje), are actually looking down into the source of the East Kiewa River, which flows into the Kiewa at Bogong Village, the half-way point of the Bogong High Plains Road between Mt Beauty and Falls Creek.

Salfinger said: "When I was a knee-high, young boy, I was chased around the paddock where we'll locate the distillery by a large bull called Baldy. The Higginson family owned the land and their sons rode horses on the high plains.

"It is quite a coincidence the first major distillery in Australia for 25 years, will be built on land in the Kiewa Valley where I spent quite a lot of my early childhood. We required a site which was close to tourist traffic and the one we've selected suits that criteria.

"It will be a focal point which people will want to come to and it will provide more employment for the families in the valley. We will purchase local Kiewa Valley malt from the farmers and provide space for regional produce such as the increasing number of wine-makers.

"The distillery will look very organic, very European, with an external rock-type construction and an interior which will feature huge wooden beams. It should take about nine months to build from when we gain approval, which could see us break ground next June."