December 2025 | Happenstance Fireside Gin

November 20, 2025

December 2025 Featured Gin of the Month

Written by Kat Chrisoulis

There’s a certain magic in the glow of a fire. Whether it’s the crackle of kindling on a winter’s night or the golden flicker of a campfire at a summer sunset, it brings warmth, comfort, and connection. At Happenstance Distillery in Adelaide’s inner west, that feeling has found its way into a bottle.

As the name suggests, Happenstance was never part of a grand plan. It began with a conversation, sparked by a shared love of good drinks and good company, and grew into something much more spirited.

Fireside Gin, one of their most beloved releases, captures that spirit. But the story behind it – and the people who brought it to life – is where the real warmth lies.

ABOUT THE DISTILLERY

Happenstance Distillery isn’t the outcome of a long-held dream or detailed business plan. It was, quite literally, a happy accident.

At the heart of the story are Mei Lin and Tim, acquaintances-turned-friends brought together by a shared love of gin and a mutual connection. “We met through my school friend Danielle, who is also Tim’s sister-in-law,” Mei Lin explains. That shared love of gin wasn’t born behind a bar or inside a distillery, it was (like many of us) born through consumption

Neither had experience in distilling. Nor hospitality. Just a deep curiosity and a sense of adventure. “Our journey is purely happenstance,” says Mei Lin. “The term ‘happenstance’ refers to a chance situation, especially one producing a good result.” And their origin story fits the name to a tee.

It started one evening at a dinner party. Mei Lin was raving about her mother-in-law’s homemade sour cherry liqueur: rich, delicious, and made with hard-to-find Morello cherries. She joked that it was so good she wished she could bottle it and sell it. But she knew a business couldn’t run on cherries alone. “A core product like gin would need to be at the heart of the business,” she said. Across the table, Tim’s ears pricked up. He was knee-deep in a self-guided education on craft gin and had often thought about making his own.

The two agreed to meet again – “in hindsight bizarrely at a wine bar, where we drank wine” – to talk it through. By the end of the night, the decision had been made. Together, they were going to build a distillery.

What followed was a long road. It took a couple of years, plenty of learning, and a fair bit of digging deep into their own pockets to get things off the ground. There were courses at Adelaide Uni, countless small-batch experiments, and more than a few setbacks. But there were moments of triumph too. “Admittedly not funny at the time, but the 86 distillations it took to perfect our signature Happenstance Gin reveal just how green we were when we started out.”

From the outset, they knew they wanted the brand to reflect the heart they put into it. Not bold or masculine. Not loud or flashy. Just warm, welcoming, and full of personality. They turned to Tim’s school friend Kate Harrison and her team at Studio Elevenses, who created a soft, elegant design centred on the Happenstance heart – now the signature across the entire range. “We wanted our branding to reflect the love we put into our products,” they say.

This journey didn’t have them stray too far from Adelaide. Tim, born and raised in South Australia, had spent time overseas and interstate, but always felt drawn back to its easy pace and strong sense of community. Mei Lin, originally from Sydney, moved across fifteen years ago and instantly felt at home. “We are in SA because it’s a brilliant place. Life is easy, people are kind, and there is an incredible community of distillers.”

ABOUT THE GIN

For Mei Lin and Tim, the idea for Fireside Gin began long before the recipe. In fact, it began with nothing more than a name. “At some point early on, we decided we wanted to make a gin called Fireside.” From there came the challenge: what does a fireside taste like?

They knew they wanted a toasty gin. Something to sip slowly by the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket or deep in conversation. But they also knew it had to be more than a seasonal drink. “We wanted it to be a wintery gin to enjoy by the fire, but at its heart it had to be a lovely versatile gin that is fit for all seasons.” It needed to offer warmth, without being heavy. Spice, without overt sweetness. Character, without crowding out the rest of the glass. In short: perfect for the festive season.

On cold days, it’s a bold and comforting neat sipper. In summer, it takes beautifully to a spritz or ginger beer. And at any time of year, it shines in a G&T and a classic Negroni – although Tim (a self-confessed Negroni fanatic) has now had to limit himself to Fridays only.

From the first pour, Fireside Gin invites you in with the scent of warm baking spices: cinnamon, clove, and orange peel like a decadent Christmas cake. On the palate, it leads with bold juniper, grounded by earthier notes of angelica root and coriander seed, then slowly unfolds into a medley of gently spiced botanicals. Hazelnut and honey lend a soft, rounded warmth, while ginger, nutmeg and cardamom dance across the mid-palate with subtle sweetness and heat. The finish is smooth, comforting, and complex, leaving behind what the distillers call “the glow of a warm lingering hug.”

Fireside Gin didn’t take long to conceptualise, and was a breeze compared to their signature gin. Their test still made the early trials easy, just three or four runs were needed to decide on the core blend. Scaling it up, however, was where the work began.

“It’s amazing how much impact ten grams of something like cardamom or cloves can have on a few hundred litres of gin!” But in the end, it was well worth the effort. In its first year, Fireside Gin was named one of the top ten Australian gins in the Drink Easy Awards – a remarkable achievement for a small, self-taught team. Since then, it’s become a quiet favourite among gin lovers, particularly those who appreciate depth and spice. And for Mei Lin and Tim, it remains one of the gins they’re proudest of, an idea born from a name and brought to life with heart.

This month, we’ve paired it with blood orange and Mischief Brew Tonic No. 1 for a G&T that is vibrant and festive. The bold and flavourful tonic celebrates Fireside’s warm, spiced backbone while lifting the citrus to the fore. It’s simply a G&T with glow.

ABOUT THE TASTING ROOM

Their distillery started tucked into a light-filled warehouse in Thebarton, in what used to be a mechanic’s workshop just outside the CBD. They’ve since moved around the corner to a bigger warehouse in 2022. It’s part tasting room, part production floor - open, honest, and full of small personal touches. A forest of plants softens the industrial lines, and the bar, built by Mei Lin herself, anchors the space with quiet confidence. Two gleaming Portuguese copper stills hum away behind the scenes. “It’s a relaxed space yet unashamedly a workplace,” they say. “First and foremost it’s where we produce and package our gins, visitors can see it all.”

OTHER PRODUCTS IN THE RANGE

Fireside might be the most festive of the bunch, but there’s more to the Happenstance range, each with plenty of character, too.

Their flagship gin, aptly named Happenstance Gin, is the all-rounder: bright and citrusy with lemon, mandarin and lemon myrtle, softened by strawberry gum and a touch of vanilla. It’s the one they reach for on a weeknight, easy-going but full of charm. Fiesta Gin, on the other hand, brings the party. Think bold juniper, kaffir lime, fresh chilli and a savoury kick.

Unsurprisingly, the Sour Cherry Liqueur is a sentimental favourite, staying true to the family recipe with Morello cherries steeped in a spiced spirit base. It’s rich, festive, and released just once a year – complete with boozy cherries in every bottle.

And with whispers of a few new small-batch experiments already in the works, there’s plenty more to look forward to from Happenstance. But for now, Fireside is the perfect companion: rich with spice, layered with care, and made to be shared.

They may not have set out to build a gin brand, but Mei Lin and Tim have created something genuinely special. Approachable, local, and just the right amount of unexpected. “We’ve learnt that the name of our distillery is… long,” they add with a laugh. “Lots of people don’t read all the way to the end of the word! At events we are called Happy Stan, Happiness, Happens… but we don’t mind. Those people love our gins.”

Whether it’s poured by the Christmas tree under fairy lights, or into a Friday night G&T, this is a gin that brings people together. And it’s arrived in your box just in time for the festive season. Cheers!

FEATURED IN THE GIN CLUB

Happenstance Fireside Gin is featured in December 2025’s Gin Subscription box!

Sign up to the club today for a complete curated distillery experience at home while stocks last.

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