FACES NEW AND OLD JOIN IN GIN BOOM
MORE than 100 Tasmanian gins from 35 distilleries will feature at next week’s Gin-uary festival, which has secured a venue upgrade to Princes Wharf No.1 due to its ongoing success.
Now in its sixth year, the festival, to be held from January 14-15, will also welcome some new faces such as the Jones sisters from Cambridge’s Drifters End Distilling Company.
Samantha, who opened the cellar door with her sister Chris in June last year, said Gin-uary was the keynote annual event for the state’s talented gin makers and she was excited about debuting Drifters End.
The sisters will be showing off their three gins, the Australian Dry, the Pink, and something “completely different”, their Spiced Pumpkin, which has a “following all of its own”. Their absinthe will also be on display.
Samantha said Drifters End has a medium-term plan to grow the majority of its botanicals on-site.
She described Tasmanian pepperberry as “one of the best things Tasmania has ever produced” and revealed it played a role in drawing the sisters to the island state.
“It’s the first native botanical I ever bought, before we even got into distilling. The two trees have moved with us (they are from South Africa originally and have both lived in four different countries) and now have pride of place right outside our front door,” she said.
The Joneses also have a bold plan to try to grow macadamia trees for the nuts’ oil.
Gin-uary organiser Nicole Fisher said the event started from humble beginnings but had grown year on year. “Gin-uary was created to celebrate Tasmania’s booming gin industry, where we are celebrated across Australia and the world for our high-quality, locally made product,” Ms Fisher said.
She said festival attendees would engage with and learn from distillers, creating social and emotional connections to the product.
“Gin-uary is designed to provide an enlightening experience which showcases the passion and the spirit of the distilleries.
“Gin-uary 2023 will be open to more than 2000 people across three four-hour sessions, held over two days. Some sessions are very close to selling out.”
Ms Fisher said there would be a variety of food vendors at the event as well as the Gin-uary bar slinging cocktails, and this year will feature a VIP lounge.