A win for the little guys
Three Kiwi blokes set up their still with $15,000. And, writes Benn Bathgate, they’ve outshone famous names at the New Zealand Spirits Awards 2021.
Some of the world’s biggest gin giants have been left with a hangover after a trio of Rotorua distillers, armed with just a small 50-litre still, saw off the booze behemoths to scoop double gold at the New Zealand Spirits Awards.
Pink & White Geothermal Gin’s White London Dry was among just three gins to scoop the top award from a field of 145.
Their win saw them top offerings from giants like Bombay Sapphire, acquired by Bacardi in 1998 for US$1.94 billion (NZ$3.85b at the time), and Tanqueray, owned by Diageo, which reported an operating profit of GBP2.1b (NZ$4.16b) for the year to June 2020.
Mitch Collins, Kurt Matthews and Brad Christie, won with an investment of less than $15,000. ‘‘A double gold means all judges felt it was exceptional, and it would have to have scored high in all aspects of flavour, mouthfeel, balance and finish,’’ said awards judge and Massey University food science professor Joanne Hort.
Hort also said it wasn’t surprising to see such a small-scale operation topple the gin giants.
‘‘It shows that a lot of hard work, care and attention and craftsmanship has gone into the choice of ingredients, the product sensory concept itself and setting up the process to achieve that.’’
The Sunday Star-Times caught up with the trio at the Croucher Brewing brewery in Rotorua, their small still positioned against a wall and dwarfed by the huge beer vats in the background.
Collins said they began their venture in 2017 with the initial plan to use geothermal energy to run their distillery. He said that finding a site that combined geothermal power and ticked all the regulatory boxes has proved challenging, but talks were under way with a number of bore owners.
Getting space at Matthews’ former employer Croucher Brewing, no strangers to awards success themselves, has proved advantageous in other ways however.
Collins said their experience dealing with booze industry red
tape had ‘‘accelerated our business years’’.
‘‘Making it is always the easy part,’’ said Matthews. ‘‘It’s getting everything lined up so you can legally sell it to people.’’
The trio entered the Spirits Awards to receive a critical verdict on their product ‘‘that’s not from friends and family’’.
Matthews said they never expected to win, let alone double gold, and success has provided real
motivation. ‘‘We know we’re doing something right.’’
As well as trying to find a site to tap into geothermal power, there’s also talk of utilising volcanic rock in their distilling process.
The trio agree gin is seeing a boom similar to that seen by New Zealand’s craft beer sector a few years ago, driven by consumers thirstier for local produce.
The chief executive of Spirits New Zealand, Robert Brewer, said growth was ‘‘spectacular’’.
Data from Customs Excise reports, for the indicative domestic numbers, and Statistics NZ for the imports, reveal that in the year to January 2017, 139,649 litres of gin was produced in New Zealand and 549,564 litres imported.
By the year to January 2021, homegrown production had rocketed to 228,216 litres with 966,523 litres imported.
‘‘People are now wanting to know more about where their products come from,’’ Brewer said, adding that although imported gin still dominated the spirits market, domestic production has increased in volume by 63 per cent since 2017.
‘‘Consumers are demanding products that are more discernibly local; that have ingredients or production methods that can be ascribed to a place, a time or a geographic location. They are also becoming more discerning, so although drinking less, they will pay more for something they feel suits their palate and their taste.’’
Antony Michalik, managing director of The Spirits Workshop and member of Distilled Spirits Aotearoa, said the revival of cocktail culture had played a huge role in gin’s renaissance, and he agreed that makers could tap into New Zealand’s ‘‘clean, green’’ image.
Brewer was optimistic for the future of Kiwi gin.
‘‘New Zealand is well-placed to capitalise on these consumer trends. Our wine has already established itself as premium and pure – something which our spirits are already doing as well. In addition, the use of New Zealand-specific botanicals such as horopito and manuka gives our gins a unique New Zealand stamp.’’