It has been quite some time since I have written a distillery article, and it gives me great pleasure to be writing this one today. It has been quite a journey for Josh, my partner, and I to move from a dream created on holiday four years ago to today, the launch of our very own gin creation. To say it has been a rollercoaster would be an accurate cliché!
It all started in 2018. Josh was busy stepping away from (in his words) an unfulfilling career in finance, and I was working as a freelance graphic designer. On a holiday in Europe we were shocked (and delighted) to see the gin culture that was booming across the continent. Most bars had large selections of delicious craft gins on their list; even the local pub had a gin menu with a range of local G&T pairings. We loved every moment of it, but also saw an opportunity for Australia and had a feeling that this gin renaissance would catch on quickly back at home.
It was a bet that paid off; the month we launched there were only 170 distilleries Australia-wide, and now there are well over 300 and growing. These craft gins were (and continue to be) difficult to find at your local bottle shop, and we thought a niche service that connected gin lovers with amazing Australian distillers could be a winner. Especially one which pairs the right tonic and garnish to each particular gin – just as you’d find in an in-person distillery door tasting!
From day one there was a relatively clear path to divide and conquer the roles Josh and I filled. He took care of the operations, and I covered all things design and product. We packed gin boxes in the cupboard of Josh’s parent’s spare bedroom, we hand delivered whatever we could across Melbourne and we tried everything we could think of to get the club off the ground. It wasn’t long before we needed more space and moved out to the garage. We were then joined by our first team member, Christina, to help us pack and the rest, as they say, is history – or at least a distant memory.
Towards the end of 2020, we took the plunge and rented our first small warehouse. We were told at the time to “rent a space twice the size of what you think you will need...” a lesson that we learned all too quickly! In early 2021 we had reached capacity and were again on the hunt for a larger space. This time with an onsite office so we could move out of our spare bedroom. Our first baby was thrown into the mix shortly after, which increased the level of difficulty a smidge, but we wouldn’t change it for the world. He’s an absolute rockstar.
Christmas 2022 saw our most recent move into our current location, which has given us the space we so badly needed (and a lunchroom, yay!). The team has expanded to around 12 people now, all of whom form a lovely tight-knit crew who work incredibly hard to make sure each and every box is just as good, if not better, than the last.
Together we’ve overcome earthquakes, mandatory isolations and lockdowns, postage stoppages and slowdowns, undelivered stock, supply chain issues, restickering gins and plenty of other challenges without ever missing a single shipping deadline. When the chips are on the line there isn’t one person who doesn’t drop tools and say ‘whatever it takes’ to pitch in. We are very fortunate, proud and privileged to have the people on our team that we do.
We’re also grateful for the incredible relationships that we have developed in the industry, being a part of so many gin journeys, and the tight-knit community we’ve joined along the way.
We are also lucky enough to be blessed with another fantastic group of people in our lives, our members! We want to sincerely thank you all, new or veteran Garden Street-er. Every single one of you has given us a shot, put your faith and hard-earned trust in us every month to find you an awesome G&T, and has stuck around to listen to our gin infused stories – this club would truly be nothing without you!
It’s about this point in every article that we ask why a distillery is called what it is. If you don’t know already, Garden Street is where the story all began. It’s the street that Josh grew up on, and where we were living whilst setting up the business (after having spent all our money on the aforementioned trip to Europe). Beyond this, it is also where our lacrosse club is located – both Josh and I play for Williamstown alongside many of our office and warehouse staff (although some play for rival clubs!).
Eagle-eyed readers will notice that the gin was made by ‘Beechwood Distilling Co.’ This distillery is our newest adventure. Given Josh had ‘Garden Street’, it was only fair that I had one too, and ‘Beechwood’ is a nod to my childhood home on Beechwood Farm. We’ve obviously always had a love for gin, and from day one, our team had always dreamed of setting up our own distillery so we could make some amazing gin (or gins) with everything that we’ve learnt so far.
Okay, that’s enough about us. Let’s get into what really matters – the gin!
ABOUT THE GIN
This gin is a nod to you, our members. We’ve tasted hundreds of delicious Australian gins over the years and every year our tasting panel has the (really terrible) job of choosing their 12 favourite gins to share with you. It’s tough competition and they’re a very picky bunch!
Twelve months ago, we floated the idea of making something exclusively for our members; something one off and never to be repeated. It needed to be something for the collectors to add to their gin shelves and moreover, we had to make a product we were proud to share, and one delicious enough to get past our tasting panel!
We put polls up on social media, we held focus groups, we ran member surveys and we studied every review that mentioned a preference for a particular type of gin. The response was overwhelming; the vast majority wanted a gin to focus on native ingredients from our very own backyard here in Australia. Two botanicals in particular kept popping up as a recurring theme; Australian finger lime and macadamias... so, off to work we went!
The finger lime industry is super small – this curious fruit grows in the sub-tropical rainforest along the Eastern border of Queensland and New South Wales, and is a traditional food of the Aboriginal communities that live there. Their attractive colours and caviar-like appearance make finger limes popular as a cocktail garnish but also in seafood dishes, salads and desserts. There are multiple varieties of finger lime, each expressing subtle differences in their refreshing citrus flavours. After many trials, we not only found a specific variety of finger lime that balanced the gin beautifully, but we also stumbled across another local ingredient that blew our minds – the Aussie blood lime.
While closely related to the finger lime, blood limes don’t quite have the same history. It’s a relatively new form of Australian citrus that is a hybrid between a red finger lime and the Ellendale mandarin hybrid. With a vibrant blood red skin, the Australian blood lime boasts a uniquely sweet yet sour flavour like no other.
With such bright and zesty citrus characteristics coming through in the gin, we needed something a little sweet and something a little savoury to help create a perfectly balanced drop. Macadamia was the obvious choice for our savoury element – the oiliness carries the beautiful botanical flavours all the way through to the back of the palate. For a hint of sweetness and complexity, we chose lemon myrtle and muntries – one of Australia’s oldest bush foods. The addition of Tasmanian pepperberries rounds out the profile and leaves a warm lingering finish.
Being gin lovers, we’re naturally fond of the humble juniper berry and we’re big fans of a bold traditional juniper forward gin. It was important for us that juniper shone through alongside the finger lime and blood lime to remain a twist on a traditional London Dry style. We carefully sourced some of the best organic juniper available from Macedonia and Bulgaria for it’s signature flavour, and used it three different ways throughout the distilling process. If only Australia had a few more juniper bushes!
It took over 20 iterations for us to settle on the final recipe for our gin. It didn’t end there though; our tasting team spent numerous afternoons testing the final recipe at various strengths to ensure we found the perfect balance where each of the native Australian botanicals shone through. Then it was onto the tonic and garnish because, really, what good is a gin if it isn’t incredible in a G&T?!
Our gin is bold – we immediately knew a full-strength tonic was going to be the best fit. CAPI was our favourite – aside from being well balanced, the finger lime, blood lime and lemon myrtle are all distinguishable. We were also pleasantly surprised to find that the addition of tonic really opened up the apple-like sweetness from the muntries. While we did enjoy it with a wide variety of garnishes, we found that lemon complemented the G&T the most, without overshadowing the native botanical flavours coming through.
For us, G&Ts are often best enjoyed in the afternoon sunshine surrounded by friends and a few light snacks. One of Josh’s favourite pastimes is fishing, and it’s something we’ve all done together as a team. It’s close to our hearts, and we know first-hand there’s nothing better than freshly caught King Fish Ceviche alongside a zesty G&T! If you can get your hands on some red finger limes, top your ceviche with a few pearls and add them into your G&T while you’re at it! You can find our recipe over on page 23.
With all of that being said, we created this gin for you, so it is very much at the mercy of your judgement. We truly hope you love it, choose to share it wisely, and feel it worthy of a spot in your gin collection for years to come. Cheers!