About
Built around Aurora, a 1930s copper pot still restored from the Morris winery (est. 1859). Six generations of winemaking heritage. Whisky matured in hand-finished barrels from the family cooperage, finished in Morris world-class fortified wine barrels (Muscat, Topaque). 100% Australian ingredients. Released 36 South blended whisky and wine cask single malts.
Production Details
The Morris of Rutherglen Tale
In the sun-baked vineyards of Rutherglen, where the Murray River winds through Victoria's northeast corner, six generations of Morris hands have coaxed liquid from the land. The family arrived in 1859, when the gold rush still echoed through these hills, and planted their roots in soil that would yield fortified wines of world renown. But in 2016, David Morris looked beyond the grape vines to grain, guided by a copper pot still that had been waiting nearly a century for its moment.
Aurora sits at the heart of the Morris distillery, a 1930s beauty restored from the depths of the family winery. Her copper gleams against the weathered stone walls where Muscat and Topaque once held court alone. The still carries the patina of decades, her curves shaped by craftsmen who understood that copper must breathe to transform spirit. In David's hands, Aurora found new purpose, her gentle heat coaxing whisky from 100% Australian grain.
The bore water that feeds Aurora rises from deep beneath Rutherglen's red earth, filtered through layers of ancient sediment. This is water that has known drought and flood, that carries the mineral memory of a continent older than most whisky traditions. Each drop speaks of the Victorian high country, where summer heat can crack the earth and winter frost silvers the vine leaves.
In the Morris cooperage, barrels take shape under hands that learned the craft from fathers and grandfathers. These aren't just vessels but vessels with purpose—first-fill American oak that will cradle new-make spirit, then a journey into the family's fortified wine casks. Muscat and Topaque barrels, seasoned by decades of noble wine, wait to impart their honeyed complexity to maturing whisky.
The climate here works overtime, accelerating what might take decades in Scotland into years. Summer temperatures soar past forty degrees, forcing the spirit deep into the oak, while cool nights draw it back. Each season writes itself into the whisky's character.
From Aurora's gentle ministrations have emerged 36 South blended whisky and single malts that carry the Morris signature—distinctly Australian, unmistakably Rutherglen. The family that spent 157 years perfecting fortified wine now applies that patience and precision to whisky, building tomorrow's legacy barrel by barrel.