Narrative summary
When two Americans wandered into the Pōkeno distillery on their way back from Hobbiton and asked whether Matt Johns wanted to bottle a whisky in Middle-earth, he assumed they weren’t serious. But they absolutely were: a US creative agency holding the world’s only spirits licence for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films — a licence so tightly held that even Hobbiton can’t sell you a bottle of spirits.
Eighteen months later, Ringbearer is the official Lord of the Rings 25th Anniversary Edition, and this episode is the story of how it came together and what you’ll taste if you purchase a bottle. Matt walks through the means test he ran the deal through (”we’re not a marketing company”), why Pōkeno insisted on controlling commercialisation, route to market and price, and how the whisky itself carries Middle-earth: mānuka honey casks (barrels lent to a local honey company for barrel-aged mānuka honey, and casks seasoned in-house with honey and new-make spirit) alongside full-maturation muscat, virgin oak and first-fill bourbon. Fifty blending attempts over six days.
Tash opens the first pour on camera — no preview — and finds a chewy, textural whisky that extends from Pōkeno’s fruit-forward house style, finishing like a hot toddy. Plus: elevenses at the distillery, and a tease about mānuka-smoked malt that suggests this is only the beginning.
Ringbearer launched today at $229 — priced to be opened, not just collected.
Topic breakdown
00:01 — Introduction: the 25th anniversary Lord of the Rings edition, Ringbearer
00:34 — How it started: a distillery visit on the way back from Hobbiton
01:53 — “We’re not a marketing company”: the resistance, and the hobbit costume he won’t wear
02:30 — The licence nobody else has: Warner Brothers, a Swedish rights holder, and why Hobbiton can’t sell spirits
03:21 — The means test: creative, innovative, true to culture and climate — and no $800 collector’s bottle
04:19 — Keeping control: commercialisation, route to market and pricing stay in-house
04:47 — Discovering the fandom: Gandalf’s pipe, Sting, and 650,000 Hobbiton visitors a year
05:45 — Designing the whisky: strength of the Fellowship, virgin oak, nine personalities
07:02 — The mānuka honey idea: New Zealand’s most famous ingredient, and why you can’t just flavour whisky
07:37 — Building the casks: barrel-aged honey with a local honey company, heating barrels to drain them, seasoning casks in-house
08:31 — Small percentage, big impact: why more than 5–6% honey cask overwhelms the blend
08:54 — Unboxing: the leather-textured box and the map of Middle-earth
09:59 — The cask bill: mānuka honey, full-maturation muscat, first-fill bourbon — and why mānuka honey isn’t actually sweet
10:58 — Six days, fifty blending attempts
11:16 — Tasting: citrus and tropical fruit, herbal honey notes, robust virgin oak mid-palate, hot toddy finish
12:19 — The texture mystery: chewy and viscous despite standard filtration
13:34 — The Liquorland test: 16 of 20 pre-orders from people who couldn’t care less about Lord of the Rings
14:21 — Mānuka maturing as an ingredient: the next step on from a mead cask
15:06 — Watch this space: mānuka honey casks meet mānuka-smoked malt
16:37 — What didn’t work: fifteen cask types on the bench and the amontillado that failed
17:25 — Where to find it: NZ online and selected Liquorlands from 7 August, Australia via The Whisky Club, US to follow, Auckland Airport duty free
18:11 — Elevenses at the distillery, 8 August — Matt’s been reading the books
Episode details
Guest: Matt Johns, Pōkeno Whisky Co
Release: Ringbearer, Lord of the Rings 25th Anniversary Edition — $229,
Availability: Pōkeno Whisky online, selected Liquorlands, Auckland Airport duty free; Australia via The Whisky Club (ballot);
