On Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, where wineries, breweries and distilleries sit side by side, Chief’s Son Distillery has established its place.
Founded by Stuart and Naomi McIntosh, it’s a family-run operation built on equal parts technical precision and hands-on experience, with a clear focus on how raw ingredients, cask and climate come together over time – and how whisky brings people together along the way.
Marking our second collaboration with Chief’s Son, this month’s release – the Dromana Estate Apera Cask – brings that approach into focus. Shaped by locally sourced barrels and matured on the Peninsula, it’s a whisky that speaks as much to where it’s made as how it’s made.
To understand how this release came together, it helps to start with the distillery itself.
About the distillery
For Chief’s Son founders Stuart McIntosh and his wife Naomi, whisky was already part of the family fabric – passed down, shared, and tied closely to memory. The name reflects that directly. McIntosh, or Mhic an Tòisich in Scottish Gaelic, translates to “Son of the Chief”, heritage that continues to shape the distillery today.
Similarly, the eagle in the logo – a white-bellied sea eagle common to the area – reflects both place and process, its form echoing the still, with wings representing barley and three feathers drawn from McIntosh clan symbolism, signifying family, love and loyalty.
The idea took shape in the early 2010s, following a trip to Scotland that began with a whisky competition. Stuart’s father submitted a short line about passing down a love of whisky through generations – and won, earning a trip through Speyside to visit distilleries and see the process up close.
What began as a father–son experience quickly became something more purposeful. Time spent inside distilleries offered a clearer view of how whisky is made and how each producer shapes their own style. By the time they returned, planning was already underway, and by 2013, Chief’s Son Distillery established on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
From the outset, the ambition was clear: to produce Australian single malt whisky defined by quality and consistency. The years leading up to their first release in 2018 were spent building that vision piece by piece – from stills and bond stores through to the tasting experience itself – all developed, tested and refined
in-house.
That approach reflects the way Stuart and Naomi came into whisky. Stuart’s experience as an Army Officer and in finance shaped the operational side – systems, discipline, and long-term planning. Naomi brought a background in science, IT and finance, with a focus on structure, testing and repeatability. Together, it set the tone for how the distillery was built and how it continues to operate today.
Rather than chasing variation through endless cask types, Chief’s Son builds character early in the process. Different malt profiles, longer fermentations and tightly managed distillation parameters shape flavour at its foundation, before maturation takes over.
In practical terms, that means turning the usual approach on its head. Where many distilleries work from a single malt recipe and explore variation through different barrel styles, Chief’s Son works across multiple malt profiles, often within the same cask type. It’s a malt-first philosophy, placing more weight on what goes into the oak than what comes out of it.
But for all the precision behind it, the intent remains grounded in something more personal. Chief’s Son has always been a family operation in the truest sense, with their children involved from the very beginning. In 2016, they filled their own barrels from the first commercial spirit produced – a tradition that continues today, with each child contributing to what has become a Family Reserve. It’s a hands-on way of passing the craft forward, embedding the next generation directly into the distillery’s story.
That same thinking carries through to how they see whisky itself. It’s not made to sit on a shelf, but to be shared – a slower drink that invites conversation, connection and memory. The kind of dram that brings people together, and over time becomes tied to moments, people and place.
Today, Chief’s Son is a firmly established name within Australian whisky, but the way it operates remains much the same – hands-on, family-led, and closely tied to its original intent. That continuity runs through everything they do, from production through to the people they make it for.
As they put it, “It’s been an incredible journey so far, full of hard work, breakthroughs, community and creativity… and we’re only just getting started. Barrel Lane members are now part of that story, and we’re excited to share everything that comes next.”
About the whisky
This month’s release begins with the cask. Sourced from nearby Dromana Estate Winery, these French oak barrels spent around 16 years holding wine before a further three seasoning with Chief’s Son’s own fortified Apera.
The relationship between the two has developed over several years, with Chief’s Son working closely with head vintner Peter Bauer to source and repurpose casks shaped by the Peninsula’s cool-climate wines. From there, they are reworked by Murray River Cooperage with a heavy toast and char, ready to begin again.
These casks form the foundation of the whisky, with full maturation taking place on the Mornington Peninsula. As traditional French oak sherry casks became harder to source, Chief’s Son developed its own Apera cask program, allowing greater control over flavour, consistency and quality. Drawn from some of the earliest of these casks, this release offers a first look at the style shaping the future of the distillery’s 900 Standard Single Malt.
At its core is barley sourced from Organically Greenwood, farmed by Sam and Chris Greenwood, then malted by Voyager Malt to Chief’s Son’s specifications, with specialty malts from Gladfield. The mash bill centres on the distillery’s ale malt, produced to a specialised schedule developed with the late Grant Powell and kilned at higher temperatures to create a fuller, more biscuity spirit.
In the glass, that work shows itself clearly. The nose opens with almond and apricot, edged with marzipan and warm honey, lifted by a gentle spice. The palate is rich but controlled – sweet fruit, roasted nuts and baked toffee layered with creamy butterscotch, while soft oak keeps everything in line. It finishes long and smooth, with sherried sweetness, mellow spice and a touch of leather lingering through.
Visit the Tasting Room
Chief’s Son operates as an urban distillery, tucked into Somerville on the Mornington Peninsula. The tasting room overlooks the working distillery floor, where large-format stills and smaller test setups run side by side, keeping production and experimentation closely linked.
Visits are built around that connection. Guided tastings and tours walk through the process from malt to maturation, with a clear view of the distillery in motion and the option to draw whisky straight from the barrel.
More recently, the experience has been refined. Tours now move with better flow and greater depth, with a stronger focus on education and immersion. Personalisation has also expanded, giving visitors more input from selection through to finished product, while the Private Cask Program continues to grow – building a community of owners who return to follow their whisky over time.
Since we last featured Chief’s Son here at Barrel Lane in 2024, that growth has extended across the distillery itself. The team has expanded its footprint on the Peninsula, adding two new facilities to increase both bonded storage and production capacity. The range has also broadened, opening the door to a wider audience while continuing to explore new ideas through collaboration.
Other products in the range
Alongside this release, the Chief’s Son range continues to build around a clear house style, with each expression offering a different take on the same underlying philosophy.
At the core sits the 900 series. The 900 Standard leads as the flagship; built on ale malt, French oak and a touch of peat, delivering a rich, sherried profile with depth and structure. The 900 Pure Malt focuses on the grain itself – softer, creamier and more malt-forward – while the 900 Sweet Peat leans into a rounder, more approachable style of peat, balancing smoke with sweetness and weight.
Using the same single malt foundation, Chief’s Son has developed a vodka that highlights the versatility of their spirit, while other liqueur releases like Black Forge brings together whisky and coffee, drawing on close partnerships within the local community.
Together, it’s a range built to be explored. We can’t wait for you to spend some time with this month’s release – and if you find yourself on the Mornington Peninsula, it’s well worth seeing where it all comes together. In the meantime, pour a glass, take your time, and share it with someone worth sharing it with.
