Like many among us, Brett and Michelle Anderson became enamoured with gin during lockdown. Unlike most of us, however, the Andersons took it further than a few online gin and tonics with mates, particularly after their gin group started monthly Meet the Distiller sessions.

Still, despite an increasing interest in the process and possibilities of distilling, they weren’t thinking about launching into the gin business, even after they noticed Daylesford’s Hepburn Distillery was on the market and decided to have a look.

“We were at a time in our lives when our kids were moving out of home and we’d started talking about what our next adventure might be,” says Michelle. “We both wanted a career change and to do a business together and were looking at different options. When we heard Hepburn Distillery was up for sale, I sort of jokingly suggested we should go and have a look.”

“We’d been to the distillery before and liked it and when I thought about it, this sounded like fun and something we could probably do,” says Brett. “We did wonder if we were quite ready to do our own business as the timeframe was quicker than we imagined but we decided it was time to bite the bullet.”

Decision made, they hit the ground running, selling their house in Ballarat, moving to Daylesford and negotiating the labyrinth of liquor licensing rules and regulations. Then there was the matter of learning how to become gin, vodka and whisky makers. Brett completed an internationally recognised Certificate of Distilling course with the added bonus of Basil Elades, the distiller and artist who’d established Hepburn Distillery, being willing to share his knowledge with Brett during the handover.

The work has paid off. In this year’s Melbourne Royal Australian International Spirit awards, all three of their entries won medals, two for their Hardware Lane Gin and one for their Vanilla Bush Honey Vodka, made using local honey and vanilla pods.

The Andersons have made it their mission to use as much local produce as possible. Their vodka is made with local potatoes and the strawberries in their popular Bullarto Organic Strawberry Gin and the sloe berries in their Sloe Gin are from the local region too. They also make their own base spirit and distil using rainwater from their own 20-thousand litre tank so they can legitimately claim to “do everything from scratch”. Even some of the barrels they use to age their whisky are made by a local cooper.

The Hepburn Distillery core range of gins, vodka and whisky is supplemented with limited edition batched using fruit like oranges, grapefruit and quinces so their output is as seasonal as it is local.

The best way to sample Brett and Michelle’s seasonal, regional approach is at their distillery door which overlooks the distillery floor. They offer tasting flights, cocktails and whisky workshops with build-your-own cheeseboards (from Long Paddock) and local olives for ballast. It’s a great addition to the burgeoning craft distillery culture in the region.

“It’s such a supportive community here in Daylesford,” says Michelle. “We’ve even gained some cred with our kids now that we’re distillers, so we really feel like we made the right decision with our new adventure.”

Hepburn Distillery
1 Hardware Lane, Daylesford
hepburndistillery.com

STORY BY MICHAEL HARDEN
PHOTOS BY KAIYA RAE