Peter Bignell

Coming Up

UTAS gave Peter Bignell the formal ground under a practice that later became defined by farming and distilling in the same breath. That combination matters at Belgrove Distillery in Kempton, Tasmania, where the work reads less like product design than like farm logic applied to spirit. The practical discipline of agriculture stays visible in the distillery’s stance: close to the land, attentive to season, and built from working knowledge rather than decoration.

Where They Are Now

Rye Whisky and farm-to-bottle distilling sit at the center of Peter Bignell’s method, with green malt, an initial wild ferment, and direct-flame distillation used for flavour. Those are not ornamental details; they define how Belgrove arrives at its house style. The green malt keeps the grain direct, the wild ferment brings in an untamed edge, and the direct flame gives the spirit its intensity. Holy Shit Rye Whisky is the distillery’s best seller and the clearest expression of that approach. Bignell frames the work as stewardship as much as production: “Being a 5th generation farmer I understand that we need to treasure our fragile environment.”

Signature

Peter's signature wines include Holy Shit Rye Whisky, Rye Whisky 46%, Belgrove Peated Rye Whisky 2017, and Belgrove 100% Rye Australian Whisky (2017 Release). Each of those bottles marks a different point on the same rye-led line. Rye Whisky 46% is the most direct statement in the set; Belgrove Peated Rye Whisky 2017 brings the smoke; Belgrove 100% Rye Australian Whisky (2017 Release) narrows the work to one grain; Holy Shit Rye Whisky is the bottle most associated with the distillery’s public identity. Together they show a distiller refining a narrow field rather than chasing breadth.

In Their Words “Being a 5th generation farmer I understand that we need to treasure our fragile environment.”