Gin

Hillmartin Distillery
Products:
Gin
Local outlets:
Abruzzo Lab, Epping
Bar Ciconne, Macleod
Craft & Vine, Montmorency
Diamond Creek Hotel Bottle Shop
Panton Hill Hotel
The Black Sheep Hawthorn, Bar and Bottle Shop
Township/suburb:
Plenty
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

Hillmartin Distillery is a small family owned operation, headed up by father daughter duo Gavin and Amy Shaw. They combine art and science to produce a range of gins for those with a taste for the sweet and fruity through to those who like something that is dry. And, of course, everything in between.

Imbue Distillery
Category:
Products:
Gin
Local outlets:
Own tasting and boutique bottleshop (Wander North, 13/149 Upper Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe), open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, each midday-8pm.
Fitzroy Cellars
Hop and Vine, Warrandyte
Liquorologist, Balwyn North
Lower Plenty Liquor
Northcote Bottleshop
Second Home, Eltham

Venues: Bowerbird Bar, Richmond; Craft Kitchen and Bar, Eltham; Fondata 1872, Kangaroo Ground; Jock & Eddie, Eltham; Little Black Pig & Sons, Heidelberg; Little Drop of Poison, Eltham; Mercer’s Restaurant, Eltham; Next Door Warrandyte Bar and Eatery; Platform 3095, Eltham; The Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood
Township/suburb:
Research
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

Imbue Distillery are a husband and wife team that make hand-crafted gins and gin liquers imbued with stories (and flavours) relating to where they live (Nillumbik). They are not afraid to play with flavours and, for example, their first product was gin infused with dandelion, prickly pear, blackberry and fennel, all foraged from the local area. Over time, they plan to expand to other spirits and liqueurs. Together, founders Mel and Mick Sheard share 30 years’ experience in Melbourne’s food industry.

In January 2020, Judy Vizzari interviewed Mick and Mel Sheard from Imbue Distillery. Read her writeup of the interview.

Mary Monica Gin
Category:
Products:
Gin
Local outlets:
Township/suburb:
Yarra Glen
Municipality:
Yarra Ranges
Notes (in their own words):

Mary Monica Gin only started out business in 2020 and their first product is called ‘oriental gin’, which is a south east asian inspired citrus gin. They live on a regenerative citrus farm in the Yarra Valley where they grow the botanicals used to flavour their gins. Their key botanicals are picked fresh in season and distilled within 24 hours. Timing is everything. This means that, when the season’s batch is sold, they do not produce any more gin until the next fruit is on the trees.

Finally, whence the name Mary Monica Gin? Mary Monica was the owner’s Great, Great Grandmother, who ran a pub in Chapel Street, South Yarra, during the great depression.

Naught Distilling
Category:
Products:
Gin.
Local outlets:
Bespoke Wine & Spirits, Thornbury
Blackhearts & Sparrows, Brunswick
Briar Hill Cellars
BWS Doncaster Drive
BWS Eltham Drive
BWS Templestowe
Craft & Vine, Montmorency
Dan Murphys Bulleen
Dan Murphys Bundoora
Dan Murphys Camberwell
Dan Murphys Collingwood
Dan Murphys Doncaster East
Dan Murphys Eltham
Dan Murphys Forest Hill
Dan Murphys Preston
Doc’s Liquor, Ringwood North
Donburn Cellars, Doncaster East
East Ivanhoe Grocers – Foodworks
Hurstbridge Cellars
FoodWorks Montmorency
IGA Express Croydon South
IGA Ringwood East
Jefferies, Croydon Hills
Leo’s Fine Food & Wine, Kew
Liquorland Blackburn North
Liquorland Diamond Creek
Liquorland Eastland, Ringwood
Liquorland Eltham
Liquorland Greensborough
Liquorland Mitcham
Liquorland The Pines, Doncaster East
Lower Plenty Liquor
Mt Evelyn IGA Supermarket
Natural Science Wine and Liquor, Blackburn
Nicks Wine Merchants, Doncaster East
Purvis Wine Cellars, Surrey Hills
Quintons SUPA IGA, Warrandyte
Ritchies IGA Pentridge, Coburg
Ritchies SUPA IGA Diamond Creek
Ritchies SUPA IGA Ringwood North
Ritchies SUPA IGA Yarra Glen
Waterdale Cellars, Ivanhoe
Westgarth Liquor and Grocery, Northcote
Township/suburb:
Eltham
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

Naught Distilling make a range of gins, including australian dry, classic dry, overproof and sangiovese.

The production process starts by using a base spirit distilled from wheat because wheat-based spirits carry lovely oils and create a velvety mouthfeel. This base spirit is then pumped into a 800-litre copper pot still, selected botanicals are added, and these botanicals are agitated and heated up in an overnight process to maximise oil extraction. The following morning, the mix is distilled and then condensed to create the gin.

Naught also have a speakeasy-style cocktail bar, open Thursday to Sunday, where you can buy a variety of mostly gin-based cocktails plus food. Book your place.

On Saturdays, they run cocktail masterclasses. Book your place.

Puss & Mew
Category:
Local outlets:
Cellar door (Thursdays to Sundays)
Blackburn Cellars
Dan Murphy’s Marketplace
Nunawading Market
Township/suburb:
Nunawading
Municipality:
Whitehorse
Notes (in their own words):

Puss & Mew is a boutique gin distillery, making small batch craft gin. Their various gins are created using a combination of three methods: steeping (boiling botanicals in the pot), vapour infusion (placing botanicals in the vapour path during distillation) and compounding (botanicals soaked in the spirit post distillation). This allows them to extract the richest flavours from their ingredients.

They are also a bar and restaurant, open Thursdays to Sundays.

They also run gin masterclasses most Saturdays, where you are guided through the process of making your own gin.