DISTILLER READY TO RAISE OUR SPIRITS
RAISE your glass because the central Gold Coast’s first distillery is almost ready to open its doors.
Granddad Jack’s Distillery at Miami is scheduled to open on August 24, about six months since father-son duo Luke and David Ridden ditched their full-time jobs and started living their distillery dream.
But considering neither man had much experience building a distillery, making alcohol or even running a business, it’s been a wild ride getting to this point.
“We were planning to open in May but we had a few setbacks,” Luke said.
“By the time we officially open we’ll have a tasting room where we’ll be able to do cocktails and gin tastings.
“It will be our own product, all the stuff we’ve been distilling and bottling except for whiskey.’’
The nearest distilleries are Tamborine Mountain Distillery, Beenleigh Distillery and Husk Distillers at Tumbulgum.
Granddad Jack’s has three types of gin ready for consumption. Two whiskeys are sitting in barrels to mature for the next year.
On August 24 the public will be able to sample the goods and learn all there is to know about making spirits.
With the equipment the Riddens have acquired, they have the capacity to make a wide range of spirits, but they’ve realised the hardest part about making alcohol is figuring out what to call it.
“We will be able to make a lot of spirits but because of the liquor laws we can’t call it certain things,” Luke said.
“You can’t call it tequila if it’s not made in Mexico, you can’t call it bourbon if it’s not made in the US, you can’t call it scotch if it’s not made in Scotland.”