SUZY BRETT

Spring Bay Distillery, Cambridge and Spring Beach, Tasmania

A shared passion for single malt whisky and the pristine Tasmanian coastline led Suzy and Cam Brett to create their dream distillery in 2015.

Where did you grow up? I was born in Zambia and moved to Dublin when I was two, then moved to Hobart when I was 12.

What do you like about working in a rural area? Spring Bay Distillery is located on Tasmania’s east coast, just over an hour from Hobart. Twenty years ago, we bought an abandoned farmhouse which needed renovating. There were possums in residence and all of the copper pipes had been stolen!

In 2015, we visited 23 Scottish distilleries, and the ones we fell in love with were in picturesque locations. We knew the place for our distillery had to be Tasmania’s east coast.

Do you feel connected to nature through your distilling? Distilling days are long days. We love getting up before the sun on a crisp morning, turning the still on and catching the sunrise – the light over the landscape is spectacular! Our gin uses Tasmanian botanicals, from coastal lemon to pepperberry and wattleseed. Each bottle has our coastal rainwater, helping to impart our terroir and the spirit of the place.

How do you spend Christmas? Christmas is always a busy time with production and visitors to the cellar door. Christmas Day tends to be a long lunch with all the trimmings.

Where will you be for Christmas this year? We both have extended family interstate, so every second year we make the journey across Bass Strait. This year is an ‘away’ Christmas.

What do you like to eat and drink on Christmas Day? We love prawn cocktails to start, ham and turkey, followed by pudding and cake. We love a Spring Bay Sloe Gin to finish lunch and then a whisky nightcap.

Do you have a dish you like to cook? Cam and I like to glaze a large, free-range ham using our Bourbon Cask Whisky. Once you glaze a ham, there is no going back – it’s so delicious and easy!

Visit springbaydistillery.com.au >