Willowbank Distillery holds a unique place in whisky history as New Zealand's first commercially viable distillery, located in Dunedin on the South Island. Previously known as Wilson Distillers, the distillery became the cornerstone of New Zealand's whisky industry and was at one point owned by Foster's brewery. It produced whisky throughout the 1970s and 1980s before falling silent in the 1990s, leaving behind a remarkable legacy of maturing casks that were quietly stored — some famously in an airplane hangar. During its operational years, Willowbank produced whisky for several brands, including Wilson's, 45 South, and Milford. Its style included both single malt and grain whisky, the latter made from unmalted barley and aged in American Oak. In 2009, Rachael and Mathew Thomson began bottling the remaining casks under the New Zealand Whisky Collection, bringing Willowbank's heritage expressions to a global audience, including the United States market. Though the distillery itself is now silent, Willowbank's whisky continues to attract significant international attention. Built upon Dunedin's rich distilling tradition, the surviving casks are considered blue-chip collector's items, representing a one-of-a-kind chapter in Southern Hemisphere whisky history.