Every bottle of whisky owes its existence to a tiny living organism that most people never think about. In fact, without it we'd have no beer, no wine, no whisky... and even bread would be pretty disappointing.

Anyone who makes whisky must make beer first. Some distilleries make it themselves, others have it made for them, but either way the process always starts in the same place.

We begin by steeping malted barley in hot water, allowing the sugars created during malting to dissolve into the liquid. At that point we have something that's full of sugar... but no alcohol.

That's when the real workers arrive…..when we pitch the yeast!

Yeast is a remarkable little organism. Give it warmth, moisture and plenty of sugar and it gets straight to work, multiplying at an incredible rate. One small bag of yeast that fits in the palm of your hand can consume most of the sugar in a 2,000-litre fermenter in just a few days.

As it does, it produces heat, carbon dioxide and—most importantly for us—alcohol.

But alcohol is only part of the story. As the yeast goes about its work it also creates hundreds of flavour compounds that are the building blocks of the rich, complex character we eventually find in mature whisky.

Here at Kinglake, we begin every fermentation with the same traditional Scotch whisky M1 yeast. It's responsible for most of the hard work, producing both the alcohol and many of the fruity flavours that become part of our spirit, notes like green apple, pear and tropical fruit.

But unlike most modern distilleries, we leave our fermenters open. For a week they're exposed to the mountain air, the surrounding bush and whatever nature chooses to send our way. Wild yeasts and pollens leave their own subtle mark and are what make the fermentation unique to Kinglake Distillery.

The M1 yeast gives us reliability, the open fermentation gives nature permission to join in.

Most conversations about whisky focus on the still, the malt, or the cask but much of its character is created days earlier, by an organism so small you can't even see it. Give yeast the right conditions and it quietly lays the foundations for everything that follows.