Patience, passion and good wood. The perfect recipe to make a top-level whiskey and reach high levels. With its single malt style, the Madoc distillery of Dina Huapi, Río Negro, achieved a double gold award in the San Francisco Worlds Spirits competition, a prestigious recognition of international stature.
Pablo Tognetti along with his wife Gloria and his children Celia and Conrado are the creators of the unmistakable Rio Negro whiskey enterprise. for its Andean notes and highlighted in the United States among spirits for its quality and elegance.
With a rounded finish achieved to perfection, exquisite; This family from Bariloche is the brand new creator of one of the nine distinguished Argentine products in the renowned world competition on a par with the most famous Scotch and English whiskeys.
“We follow the guidelines of Scottish legislation to be able to call it Single Malt, where the ingredients used are only barley malt, yeast and water”said Pablo Tognetti, owner and entrepreneur of Madoc. There is something else that is not an ingredient, but is part of the essence, the secret of whiskey and that is the oak barrel.
The distillery is located on Route 40 in Dina Huapi and It emerged as a venture eight years ago after a long history in the world of craft beer since 1979. In October 2016 they made the first distillate and from then on, they never stopped. Today they are dedicated to whiskey and produce around 7,000 bottles a year, with a strong commitment to the national market.
Pablo has a doctorate in Physics, studied at Balseiro and worked at Invap and Arsat. His dream was to set up his own commercial brewery when he retired, after so many years of hobbying. But when he saw that the factory boom exploded in the 90s, he regretted it, because he was looking for something more original.
“I liked a new challenge and then I realized that whiskey is a distillate of a beer, without hops, with very few variations regarding the process. I had all those tools and what distillation is, because of my profession.”
Pablo Tognetti, producer of award-winning “Madoc” whiskey
Thus, he began to carry out the first tests in 1995 with a small, 40-liter distiller. “Then I developed larger teams to set up what was the first distillery in Argentina, which we did in a partnership,” Pablo said. In 2011, the country’s first whiskey distillery was established, but in 2014 the company was dissolved. In 2015 Madoc began to develop.
“Whiskey is a distillation, like a beer without hops and without the boiling process,” he explained. Oak is used for its porosity as it allows air to enter and with it, oxygen, which participates in reactions with the content. Until it is mature enough, it is just a simple spirit.
At Madoc they only have a few barrels of Fuegian lenga, but the exclusivity is from the oak, a noble wood that gives the color to the drink that is initially transparent. ““Single” means that it comes from a single distillery and the phrase refers to what the Scots would call a “blend”, according to the detail of the great master producer.
“In general, various barrels are mixed to produce a certain product. As you have enough of those barrels, you will have to make the same whiskey with greater maturation. as time goes by, but with a very similar style. “At this moment we have three expressions,” he said.
97 out of 100: high score among the best in the world
There are competitions and contests for all tastes and drinks: whiskey, cognac, vodka, gin. The family decided to apply for Madoc in these leagues to see where they stood and to be able to measure themselves against the best in the world. Brands from Scotland, Ireland, the United States, and Japan were presented.
He dinahuapense whiskey obtained a score of 97/100 and a unanimous vote that made it the winner of the double gold medal. “It really is a huge satisfaction,” said Pablo, who feels that the award is for perseverance and quality, all these components that come into play when making his product, with personality and character.
- 80,000
- pesos today costs a bottle of whiskey of this quality, an artisanal product, which also carries a high tax surcharge.
Four distilleries in Río Negro
In the province there are others three whiskey production establishments, in Cinco Saltos, Villa Regina and Bariloche. The world of distillates is in full expansion in the territory.
Rarakün is one of them. It was born in Regina in 2019 and produces single malt whiskey. There are about 1,000 bottles per year and they are in the middle of testing alternative yeasts and barrels. In Cinco Saltos is Batiste, where Scottish-style whiskey is made entirely manufactured in the home of its own owners who are about to take a leap towards small-scale industrialization.
In the Andean region, in addition to Madoc, the production of Estepario, a whiskey from Bariloche based on 100% Argentine malt and meltwater from the Andes Mountains.
The Four businesses open their doors to visitors so they can live the experience of getting to know the production characteristics up close. and the different processes, in addition to having their points of sale.
