A distilling revolution is taking place on the slopes of Australia and New Zealand and we’re so here for it.
When the chairlifts stop turning for the day head to these local distilleries to see how it’s done and taste the next big spirits making waves from the alpine regions.
We’ve got five of the best (for those over 18).
Wildbrumby Schnapps and Gin Distillery, Jindabyne
Down the road from Thredbo. Up the road from Jindabyne. Close to Perisher’s Bullocks Flat Skitube Terminal, at the foot of Mt Kosciuszko. This is where you’ll find Australia’s highest distillery.
For 20 years, Wildbrumby has been producing award-winning schnapps, gin, vodka and gluhwein using organic, seasonal fruit and botanicals. Enjoy café meals, live music on weekends or stroll through the entrepreneurial ski instructor-turned-artist’s vast sculpture garden.
Try: Peach Nectar Schnapps.
Reed & Co, Bright Victoria
Art meets science at Reed & Co distillery in Bright, at the foot of the Victorian Alps, wheretwo ex-chefs started experimenting with distillation techniques to manipulate flavours in their dishes using local botanicals.
Inspired by their natural surroundings and the flavoursome ingredients it provided, the same botanicals they were using on the plate in their hatted restaurant, Tani Eat & Drink (since closed), were then used to invent one of the first native bush gins in Australia.
Try: Chilli Koji Liqueur
Swiftcrest, Mansfield
Sustainability underpins every drop of handmade vodka, gin and whisky at Swiftcrest off-grid family distillery just outside Mansfield – the gateway to Mt Buller. Organic ingredients and gravity-fed spring water that requires no pumping or electricity and a wood-fired boiler for heating stills fuelled by fallen timber.
Credits are applied for bottles that are returned for reuse and they use recycled cardboard and solar-powered printing for packaging and labelling. Spent grain then feeds livestock at the Mansfield Zoo. Oh, and did we mention how good these spirits taste?
Try: Dutch Apple Pie Moonshine
Cardrona Distillery, South Island New Zealand
Travel back in time to 2011 and the idea of producing a single malt whisky that would stand tall on the international stage was still a pipedream for Kiwi gal, Desiree Reid. But after picking the brains of distilling masters in Scotland and the United States, the first spirits at Cardrona Distillery began to flow in 2015. Whisky, vodka, gin and a selection of liqueurs using a secret family recipe are now distilled and aged onsite in Cardrona, midway between Queenstown and Wanaka.
Try: Growing Wings Solera
Scapegrace, Central Otago New Zealand
Nine years ago, three men bonded over a shared love of gin to create artisanal, small batch spirits – including the world’s first black gin – that are now distributed to 40 countries worldwide. Passion and ambition drive the Scapegrace Distillery owners, who credit their Central Otago location, halfway between the South Pole and the Equator, as the optimum environment for ageing soon-to-be-released single malt whiskies.
Later this year, a $25 million distillery, bar and restaurant complex is set to open on the shores of Lake Dunstan, 45 minutes from Queenstown.
Try: London Dry Gin
