Patience, purity and provenance define Montville’s Stillmaker whisky
Owners Michael and Sandy Martin.
Montville’s Michael and Sandy Martin are proving that world-class whisky doesn’t need to come from Scotland or Tasmania. Their boutique operation, Stillmaker & Sons Distillery, had its grand opening on Friday November 7.
Remarkably, and despite its humble beginnings, the distillery has already built a reputation for quality with the first release already sold out. The inaugural small-batch, single-cask bottling produced just 107 bottles – all snapped up at $189 each.
Stillmaker Whisky is handmade and aged on site, the result of decades of experience, local know-how and, as Michael says, “really good water”.
“My grandfather started building stills for the Italian community in Melbourne back in the 1930s,” Michael said. “He always told me that no matter what else you do, you’ve got to have really good water.”
Michael and Sandy found exactly that in Montville. Soft, mineral-balanced spring water flows naturally from the hinterland’s aquifers. An old water diviner first picked the spots for drilling on their Western Avenue property; a seventh-generation water driller later pegged the same locations to within half a metre.
“It’s pure, soft, alkaline water, and it makes a beautiful whisky.”
Their barrels also have a story. Many once held ruby port for more than 40 years before being used by Bundaberg Rum, where they helped produce an award-winning dark aged rum. “We were lucky to secure 50 of those barrels,” Michael said. “They’re now maturing our whisky, and the results are fantastic.”
Michael, a former industrial process electrician of more than 40 years, approaches whisky-making with the same methodical mindset he once applied to water treatment plants and complex government projects. He credits leading Australian whisky consultant Dean Jackson with helping “shortcut 10 years” of trial and error on mash bills and recipes.
“We got it right first up basically and we just ran with that,” he said.
Stillmaker & Sons is the only dedicated whisky distillery in Queensland. Unlike larger producers who make multiple spirits, the Martins chose to focus solely on single malt whisky. “We wanted to do one thing and do it really well,” Michael said.
That focus shows. Their first barrel went down in September 2019, and the whisky now reaching maturity rivals much older Scottish spirits. “Our six-year whisky is equivalent to a 15-year Scotch. And, due to the slower maturation in our Montville climate, we only lose about seven per cent a year to the angels (evaporation), similar to Tasmania, so it develops beautifully.”
The process is painstakingly hands-on. “We buy grain from a single paddock, make our own beer wash and double-distil everything,” Sandy said. “It takes about ten days to produce 200 litres. It’s slow, but that’s how we like it.” Over five to six years, the couple have laid down about 13,000 litres under bond, almost all of it filled, rolled and managed by the two of them.
Their patience has paid off. A recent tasting at Melbourne’s renowned Whisky and Alement bar led to that venue’s owners flying north to see the distillery for themselves. Michael said they brought with them a highly regarded taster who called Stillmaker’s new-make spirit – the clear spirit straight off the still – the best she had tried.
“She tasted it and she just looked at me and Sandy, she said, ‘this is the best new make I’ve tasted’,” he said. “It brought tears to our eyes.”
Stillmaker & Sons’ whiskies are sold online and through select bars and specialty retailers. There’s no cellar door, a deliberate decision to preserve the peace of their Montville property and keep neighbours and council on side, but the Martins are in no rush.
“It’s a slow business,” Sandy said. “But that’s the whole point. Good whisky takes time – and we’re fine with that.”
For more info go to www.stillmakerdistillery.com.au
A family legacy of craftsmanship and the spirit that heals
The story of Stillmaker & Sons Distillery stretches back more than a century to the Italian Dolomites, where founder Michael Martin’s grandfather, Valentino Zannantonio Martin, learned the art of working with metal as a stagnino, a travelling tinsmith who made and repaired copper pots and pans.
“Valentino was just 13 when the Germans invaded his village in the First World War,” Mr Martin said. “He escaped capture and, ten years later, took a chance on a new life in Australia.”
After arriving in 1927, Valentino worked for two gruelling years on the Old Ghan Railway Line from Port Augusta to Alice Springs before setting up a small workshop in Melbourne’s McCormac Place. There, his reputation for craftsmanship grew quickly.
“He made percolators, kitchenware and the occasional still,” Mr Martin said. “It was the Depression. Bootleg grappa was a form of currency back then.”
That pioneering spirit lives on in Montville today. “Our distillery is dedicated to Valentino,” Mr Martin said. “Just like my Nonno, we’re artisans with a passion for making something exceptional.”
Michael and his wife Sandy carry the family tradition into a new generation. “We’ve always been a good combination — I dream big, and Sandy keeps it real,” he said. “Now I’m a grandfather, and I’m proud to bring our family’s story full circle through whisky.”
For Mr Martin, whisky is as much about memory and emotion as it is about barley and barrels. He often speaks at tastings about the first time he shared a whisky with his father while camping as a 14-year-old, sitting under a blanket by a log fire with a Johnny Walker and coke.
“Everyone’s got that moment with someone they love and a whisky in their hand,” he said. “That’s why people like whisky. It’s an unconscious connection to parts of our family that we’ve enjoyed back 20, 30, 40 years ago.”
