People often ask how we ended up building a whisky distillery in Kinglake. The answer begins many years earlier, in the French Alps and with two people who shared a love of adventure.
I'm Sam Lowe and, together with my wife Chantal Daniels, we're the two people behind Kinglake Distillery. Although you'll mostly hear from me in these notes, Kinglake has always been a two-person effort. While I'm usually making whisky, Chantal somehow manages to keep everything else moving—from customers and events to the hundreds of details that make a small distillery work.
I thought it was about time I properly introduced us both.
Kinglake Distillery is deeply rooted in the landscape and community of Kinglake, and the deepest roots belong to Chantal.
Her grandfather, Pat Burns, was an engineer, an ex-serviceman and, above all, someone who loved the Australian bush. Although he lived in Melbourne, he spent every opportunity exploring Victoria's high country. Chantal has countless stories of him disappearing into the wilderness with nothing more than a backpack for a few days before quietly returning home again.
He eventually fell in love with Kinglake and bought a second property here. Sadly, he never fulfilled his dream of moving here permanently, but today Chantal's parents and uncle all live on land that Pat first owned. In many ways, Kinglake has been part of Chantal's family for generations.
When she wasn't helping on the family farm, Chantal was usually in Kinglake National Park building mountain bike trails or training for competition. She went on to compete very successfully in the Australian State Championships, but her appetite for adventure didn't stop there.
After finishing university, she left Australia to chase another passion, Snowboarding. Over the following years she completed multiple ski seasons in Lake Tahoe, Avoriaz, La Plagne and Val Thorens.
It was in Val Thorens that we first met.
I was immediately drawn to this fearless Australian girl who seemed to make friends wherever she went. During that first winter together we found ourselves outrunning an avalanche while Snow-boarding off-piste, and not long afterwards I ended up having my eye stitched back together after an ambitious (and unsuccessful) 360.
I was hooked.
Nearly twenty years later, Chantal is still encouraging me into adventures I'd probably never have attempted on my own, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Unlike Chantal, I grew up in the Essex countryside in England. While I spent my early career working in finance in London, I gradually realised that what really motivated me wasn't climbing the corporate ladder. It was the freedom to build something of my own and the excitement of taking on new challenges.
Looking back, perhaps that was inevitable. My father and great-grandfather both built successful businesses connected to the land, and I suspect some of that entrepreneurial spirit found its way into me. I've always enjoyed creating things, solving problems and being responsible for my own successes—and failures.
In 2006 I decided to take a leap of faith. I sold almost everything I owned, borrowed more money than was probably sensible, and moved to the French Alps to build a hospitality business from scratch.
What was meant to be an adventure became thirteen unforgettable winters. Running businesses in a foreign country while learning a new language taught me resilience, hospitality and how to solve problems with limited resources—lessons that have proved invaluable in building Kinglake Distillery.
When our children arrived, we knew it was time for another big decision. We swapped the high-octane pace of Val Thorens for the beauty and serenity of Kinglake, ready to begin our next adventure together—not just as best friends and husband and wife, but now as business partners too.
Neither of us imagined then that our biggest challenge was still to come. Building a whisky distillery from scratch would test everything we'd learned over the previous fifteen years—and teach us a great deal more.
Looking back, it's funny how life joins the dots. Chantal brought a lifelong connection to Kinglake and the Australian bush, while I brought a fascination with building things and making them better. Together we've spent the last seven years trying to build a distillery that's worthy of both.