Distillery takes home five gold gongs at awards
A Thames distillery that began as a hobby project has had another big win at the World Gin Awards.
All five of their entries were awarded country best this month, more than any other New Zealand distillery in a single year.
Coromandel Distilling Company co-owner Paul Schneider said being validated by the tastebuds of international judges was quite an achievement.
“What it means for us is that now the customer can be super confident that whatever they choose, it’s the best in the country.”
Since founding the company in 2017, Schneider and co-owner Daniela Suess have now collected 36 awards. Schneider said picking a favourite from five of their offerings is as impossible as picking a favourite child, but the most unique one to the region is their Coromandel Mānuka Gin - a liquor matured in mānuka wood coated in medicinal grade mānuka honey.
The liquor has held New Zealand’s best matured gin title in the World Gin Awards consecutively for three years.
“It is really a gin that captures the flavour of the Coromandel.”
Schneider said making gin with his partner Suess was a “combination of coincidences”. After initially meeting in a botanical class in Germany, they found themselves working for the Department of Conservation in the back country of the Coromandel Peninsula.
The job took them to some wild places, which led to them naming the brand “Awildian”, meaning untameable - like the wild Coromandel.
Trained as scientists, Schneider said distilling is a perfect combination of their passion for scientific inquiry and mixing ingredients. He said the more he learns about gin, the more he appreciates.
“Distilling is really the art of capturing flavours. Every success is like a piece of a puzzle, isn't it? There are just so many parts to it. It's difficult to to know which one is the most important bit, but in the end, it makes a picture. Ideally, a nice picture.”
Schneider said although they put all of their eggs in one basket when the couple spent tens of thousands on a still custom-made by the oldest and best still maker from Germany, but he was patient to give the business time to grow.
“I'm amazed by how long everything takes. You have to really believe in yourself and in the processes.
“You have to be willing and happy to pour that love into it, day after day after week after month after year.”