Pōkeno Single Cask Mānuka Honey

Pōkeno Single Cask Mānuka Honey is a New Zealand single malt made in Pōkeno, Waikato, bottled at 55.1% ABV with a limited outturn of 275 bottles. This release was selected and bottled by The Liquid Madness, an independent bottler based in Kuchen, Germany, founded in 2021 by Tilo Schnabel and Sebastian Büssing. The Liquid Madness presents each bottling as a “Spirit Adventure,” focusing on unusual single casks and creative maturations, and bottling without chill filtration or colouring.

Mānuka is a native New Zealand tree and its honey is known for its intensity and a distinctive herbal edge. In whisky terms, that profile reads as dense honeyed sweetness and floral lift rather than simple sugar, with a slightly savoury note that helps the sweetness feel structured instead of syrupy. Oak contributes spice and grip through extractives and tannins, giving definition through the mid palate and into the finish.

At 55.1% ABV, the alcohol carries aroma and flavour more aggressively and increases perceived texture, making the whisky feel thicker and more concentrated. The result is a high impact single cask where honeyed sweetness leads, with firm oak structure and a warming, long finish.