2 SAS Squadron Whiskey Collaboration
Whipper Snapper Distillery's 2 SAS Squadron commemorative whiskey Courtesy of SASHF and Whipper Snapper Distillery

2 SAS Squadron Whiskey Collaboration

Published - 16 August, 2021

Collaboration Announcement

The SASHF and Whipper Snapper Distillery have collaborated to produce a bottled Upshot Australian Whiskey to acknowledge the history of 2 SAS Squadron.

About Whipper Snapper Distillery

Established in 2014 by two passionate whiskey drinkers, brother in-laws Alasdair Malloch and Jimmy McKeown, Whipper Snapper Distillery was born from an idea shared that a new era of Australian whiskey could be crafted with its own identity, redefined, while still being authentic, quality whiskey helping to shape the future of the Aussie distilling industry. Initially inspired by a recipe passed down from two heroes in war, an American and Australian pilot during WW2, to the modern Aussie expression of today, Whipper Snapper are passionate about using 100% local West Australian grains and highlighting innovation and sustainability.
As Western Australia's first urban distillery, the significance of provenance shapes Whipper Snapper's award-winning whiskies. As a true craft distillery, everything is created on-site in Perth. Whipper Snapper also boasts a specialty coffee bar, an eclectic tasting room, and a team of passionate whiskey educators offering tours and masterclass throughout their distillery at 135 Kensington Street, East Perth, seven days a week.

History of 2 SAS Squadron

2 SAS Squadron was a sub-unit of SASR, which was established on 4 September 1964. The Squadron was deployed on operational service to Borneo from January to July in 1966, and to Vietnam from February 1968 to February 1969, and again from February 1971 to October 1971. 2 SAS was disbanded in November 1971 as part of organisational restructuring within SASR. The need for additional personnel for domestic counter terrorism duties saw the Squadron re-raised in January 1982.
2 SAS Squadron was disbanded a second time in January 2006 to again accommodate internal organisational restructuring of SASR but was re-raised in mid-2008 for service in Afghanistan. Force elements of 2 SAS Squadron were deployed to Bougainville, the Solomon Islands, Arabian Gulf, Malaysia, Iraq, Sinai, the Gulf States, Fiji, Afghanistan, the South-West Pacific, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Ukraine, Kuwait, Rwanda, Somalia, East Timor, Op Gold and the Southern Ocean. 2 SAS Squadron was removed from the Army Order of Battle in November 2020.

Commemorative Whiskey

Limited and Standard Editions of the Whipper Snapper Upshot Australian Whiskey were produced. Alasdair and Jimmy presented the Number 1 bottle in the Limited Edition to the SAS Historical Foundation's Chairman, Mr Greg Mawkes. This bottle will be retained for auction at an appropriate time and event.