Would you drink sheep poo whisky?

This Tasmanian whisky maker is going to sheepish lengths to stand out. Don’t pooh-pooh it until you try it.

You’ve heard of Bali’s poo coffee, but how about a poopy product that’s a little more homegrown? Tasmanian whisky maker, Belgrove Distillery, has a lot of unique whiskey-making methods. They make 100 per cent rye whisky using rye corn they grow themselves. It’s distilled in a copper pot made by the distiller, Peter Bignell. They keep the processes closed-loop and sustainable, like using waste cooking oil to heat the fires, collecting the water for brewing and diluting from the roofs of their farm sheds, and feeding any remnants that aren’t whiskey to their sheep.

Of course, they also use their sheep to help flavour – and in a most unexpected way.

Peter Bignell started smoking grains with sheep dung. (Image: Lusy Productions)

Known for being experimental and creating whiskies with a smokey flavour, Belgrove began by smoking peat. To keep the flavour unique in an ever-expanding market, that peat was soon replaced with sheep dung. So no, there’s not literally dung in your drink, but the smoking process is used to change the flavour profile of the grains before they’re turned into whisky. What’s left is aptly named Belgrove’s ‘Wholly Shit’ range. And apparently the result has earned Belgrove a loyal following.

Be whiskied into a frenzy. (Image: Samuel Shelley)

This certainly isn’t the first instance of animal poo being used as a culinary delicacy. In fact, Australian Traveller’s own Art Director was very quick to jump to the defence of elephant poo as a botanically delicious ingredient in a South African gin.

According to the owners Paula and Les Ansley, Indlovu gin was born when Paula was “sipping a G&T while watching a herd of elephants listening to the guide explain how particular elephants are in their browsing habits and yet how little of the plant material they actually digest”. As it turns out, elephants only digest about half of their food, and what’s left is a veritable pooh-pooh platter of plant life – from roots and bark to fruit and flowers.

Looks like apperitvo hour. (Image: Getty/Nicky Lloyd)

Sounds a lot like a gin-tasting profile, no? Don’t worry, the dung is sterilised and dried before being added to the gin.

And, of course, there’s Indonesia‘s infamous Kopi luwak, also known as civet coffee. It doesn’t get much more poopy than this, yet among coffee lovers it’s particularly coveted. Essentially, the coffee is made using beans that have been partially digested and defecated out by the mongoose-like Asian palm civet. The beans are fermented as they make their way through this little critter’s intestines and carefully collected by coffee makers. According to those in the know, this poopification adds an extra level of smoothness and richness to the flavour. Go figure. Of course, if you try it, be sure to source ethically made Kopi luwak, as this practice has led to the capture and containment of some wild civets.

Indonesia’s famous poop coffee is questionable for more than one reason. (Image: Getty/ hedge111)

Have we convinced you to give it a go? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.