Inroducing the Ballad
A New Standard in Australian Spirits
Quokka’s soon-to-be-released Ballad is a spirit made to a new standard in wooded spirits. Our intent is that the name, “Ballad” become synonymous with the spirits in the same way the names, “Whiskey” and “Bourbon” have come to describe the whole genre.
Whilst we (Quokka Premium Spirits) will not disclose our proprietary technical maturation methods, we will invite and encourage other distilleries to use the Ballad descriptor if producing a spirit meeting the Ballad’s standards as described above.
The Australian Tax Office dictates clearly what distillers can call whiskey, rum, brandy etc.; setting minimum production standards to define a spirit type. This is the standard of a Ballad.
Definition of a BALLAD, a wooded spirit made to the following standards:
- A Ballad must conform to the Quokka Pure standard: A purity and production standard which means zero gluten, lactose, nuts, grains, pH modifiers, preservatives or any other additives are used (or present in that facility) at any point in production. There must be zero chance of cross-contamination.
- A Ballad must be wood matured – technically (through physical processes only) or traditionally – to the quality point where all aspects of spirit quality, taste, physical constituents, and mouth-feel are indistinguishable when compared against a traditionally barrelled spirit with a minimum of 12 years of age. (Quokka uses an 18 year equivalence standard.)
- A Ballad must only draw colour and flavour from the woods used. No additives including colours, enhancers or flavours are permitted under any circumstance.
- All processes used in Ballad maturation must duplicate natural chemical/physical maturation processes normally associated with traditional barrel aging. No chemical esterification or solvent agents other than the charging spirit may be used.
- All water used through production and bottling of a Ballad must be purified and of the highest quality, without fluoride, chlorine or other municipal supply contaminants.
Quokka Premium Spirits is proud to introduce the Ballad to Australia and the world; a new definition and standard of technically-matured, wooded spirits with all the complexity of flavour, mouth-feel, cleanliness and purity expected of any spirit produced to the Quokka Pure standard.
Our technical maturation* utilises multiple physical processes to duplicate – but at an accelerated rate – all of the natural processes and interactions between the spirit and wood as it occurs within traditional barrelling, resulting in a spirit of exceptional quality and value.