Distillery Botanica is an award-winning boutique distillery located in the heart of the NSW Central Coast.
Master distiller and owner, Phillip Moore, brings his passion and expertise to every product. We spoke to Phillip about his journey to creating a world-renowned distillery, and how he transforms his favourite botanicals into spirits.
What inspired you to teach yourself the art of distilling? Were there any unexpected challenges?
I wanted to have a distillery for a very long time, so I knew I needed to learn how to distill. When I started, there were no tertiary courses for distilling in Australia, and only 15 active distilleries, so I knew I would have to go overseas to study. Instead, I bought a number of books and scoured the internet for tips. I eventually purchased a tiny 3L still and taught myself the ancient art and science of distilling.
They say the hardest thing about writing is to get the first word on the page, and it’s the same with distilling – once you’ve got the first distillation, you just have to keep on trialling over and over again until you get it right. All of my spirits are crafted from many hours of tinkering and hundreds of trials. I hope you can taste the attention to detail and meticulous craftsmanship in my flawless gins.
How does your love for Australian botanicals influence your craft?
Before launching my distillery, I ran Australia’s largest wholesale herb nursery for 20 years. It gave me a passion for botanicals, and I knew I wanted to keep working with them even when I began my new career.
I’m so lucky that my distillery is surrounded by three acres of gardens, including a special gin garden, which allows me to transform my favourite plants into award-winning spirits and liqueurs. Natives are a buzzword at the moment, but I have learned that you have to be very, very careful, because Australian native botanicals can have a bitter aftertaste unless you use very small quantities. You also have to make sure that they fit into the concept of what makes a gin.
What has been your biggest success so far? What has been the hardest moment?
Distillery Botanica became the first and only Australian distillery to win Herb Liqueur of the Year in Germany, and gold medals in London and San Francisco for the Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur. It is also the first Australian distillery to win a gold medal for gin at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London, the world’s most prestigious spirits show and the home of gin. These were all very proud moments.
Selling Mr.Black to the world’s largest distilling company was another pivotal moment that enabled me to make lots of improvements to the distillery, transforming it into a world-class cellar door and garden befitting of the spirits we make here.
COVID was a tough time, but we got through it and are thrilled to be welcoming more people into the gardens and distillery than ever before.
Talk me through the process of creating a new gin flavour. Where do you draw inspiration from?
Plants and nature are my muse, and I am always trying different botanicals to see if they’ll work in a spirit. I start by distilling them individually to get a sense of the taste, and that often rules out a lot of plants. Once I’ve chosen my base botanical, I start trials to determine how much to use in a gin. It could be something that stands out like blood orange, or something that blends right in, like crushed Akoya pearl.
What makes Australian gin different from other products around the world?
We all use juniper, which mostly comes from Macedonia or Italy, and coriander. But it’s the lesser notes like spice, citrus, floral or herbal flavours that distinguish an Australian gin.
What feedback have you received from visitors trying the new cellar door experiences? What do you hope they take away from the visit?
We are getting so many nice comments about the garden, and visitors are really stunned by how beautiful it is. It’s such a unique and tranquil location for a distillery, and people enjoy sitting in the garden and sipping a G&T or smelling the botanicals, especially the lemon myrtle and roses.
The revamped cellar door offers the perfect backdrop for tasting our range of drinks. We hope visitors go away remembering the beautiful garden and the unique experiences, such as personalising a bespoke gin by hand picking ingredients and blending them with the spirit. We think a visit to Distillery Botanica makes the perfect day out for green thumbs and those who love an artisan tipple.
What is next for Distillery Botanica?
Being a garden distillery that uses handpicked botanicals is definitely what makes us unique, so we will continue to improve this element of our distillery. And I’ll continue to trial new gins and liqueurs, while maintaining total dedication to our existing range.
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