(DBR) - Food science students of Auckland University of Technology (AUT) have been brewing a way to create New Zealand's first national alcohol, Cabbage tree tequila. AUT associate professor Owen Young said New Zealand gets tequila from Mexico, Scotch whiskey from Scotland and champagne from France. Young's students have been working on to create a Kiwi brew and have re-created a colonial-era spirit made using the starch of native cabbage trees or ti kouka, reported Sunday Star Times. "First the missionaries have made a cabbage tree rum and we're trying to recreate that, and wine and whiskey are also on the list, with toasted New Zealand woods replacing traditional oaks in the wine-making process," Young said.