THE SPIRIT OF NED
THE SPIRIT OF NED
THE NED WHISKY STORY
NED KELLY IS AUSTRALIA'S MOST FAMOUS OUTLAW
Born into a disadvantaged Irish immigrant family, Kelly experienced the systematic injustices faced by the poor and disenfranchised in colonial Australia.
The harsh treatment by the police, perceived corruption, and a desire to resist oppression contributed to his transformation into a folk hero among those who sympathised with his grievances.
Ultimately, Kelly's actions, including the infamous Kelly Gang's last stand at Glenrowan, were a quest for justice as he perceived it.
While his methods were controversial, Ned Kelly's legacy of bravery, flair, daring spirit, honour, loyalty and ingenuity inspired the whisky that carries his name today.
WHY NED?
To make a whisky that truly reflects the Australian character we need to be brave and daring in our approach. Just because something has been done one way before doesn't mean we need to follow.
"Ned Kelly was all about, 'That's how I want to do it, and that's what I want to do and you can either come with me, or get out of the way.' That's why he's the icon to our whisky." - Ben Hunting, Head of Distillation & Maturation.
As Australia's most famous outlaw. A man whose name evokes emotion and opinion in all Australians. He did things his way, defended the ones he loved, spoke truth to authority and was never bound by those who tried stop him.
It's these traits that we want to channel when approaching our distilling - to be bold in innovations, relentless in our pursuit of flavour.
WE MAKE THE WHISKY
NED was born from a desire to create a locally-crafted Australian whisky that gave Australian dark spirits drinkers a genuine choice and something to call their own. We’re not interested in imitating others or comparing ourselves to anyone else. We’re forging our own path to create something uniquely Australian.
We’re innovators, inventors, entrepreneurs and challengers – but most of all lovers of Australian whisky. The path to today started with our Founder Jason, a man with a passion and dream to produce a locally-distilled Australian whisky that all Australian drinkers could be proud of. From sketches on napkins in a Melbourne pub and the very first cans of NED Australian Whisky & Cola, while we’ve come a long way since then what hasn’t changed is our commitment to step up to the mark and take on the challenge on our own terms.
We built our grain-to-bottle distillery in Campbellfield, just north of the Melbourne CBD. It's there our brewing and distilling team craft our award-winning whisky and lay it down in white American oak barrels to mature in the dynamic Melbourne climate.
