The award-winning Distillery Botanica at Erina has opened a new 144sqm cellar door plus expansive botanical gardens, and launched a range of experiences for visitors including gin-distilling workshops, cocktail-making, distillery and garden tours.
Walking through the iron gates from the entry, visitors meander through beautifully tended gardens to arrive at the new cellar door.
Entering the new building, which took two years to complete, visitors will see an impressive 2,400-litre copper still, which rises about four metres high and takes up about a three metre corner of floor – specifically created for distiller Phillip Moore and his team to distil all Moore’s gins.
Along the east side of the large room, 16 individual two-litre copper stills line the wall nestled against long windows looking out onto the herb and citrus garden.
This is the area for the gin-distilling workshops, framed by an observation bench where gin creators can step back, watch and relax while their personalised gins filter through.
Six tall rectangular tables and bar stools provide plenty of space for the new class experiences.
The west side of the room is where the tastings take place, with visitors invited to taste Distillery Botanica’s full range of six gins, two liqueurs, vodka, and new Terrigal rum.
A minimal tasting fee of $5 is asked to try the full range, which is redeemable off any purchase.
The acclaimed Mr Black, created by Phillip Moore and Tom Baker in 2013 before taking the world by storm and finding a new home at Diageo in September 2022, is also available for tasting and purchase.
Outside, the new botanical garden spans about 760sqm and was inspired by the walled citrus gardens of Spain and Persia.
An incredible fountain – the exact replica of a martini glass – sits at the top of the garden, spilling out into a water rill which runs the length of the garden before feeding back into a reflection pond and being recycled.
Framed by citrus and with rows of garden beds filled with different botanicals throughout, the garden will be key to the gin-distilling classes, with participants picking botanicals from the garden to distil into their own gins.
Distillery Botanica first opened its doors in 2007 as the 16th commercial small scale gin producer in Australia.
Created by distiller Philip Moore, it produces a range of gins and liqueurs including the acclaimed Moore’s Dry Gin – the first Australian gin to ever win gold at the prestigious London International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) in 2017, Moore’s Blood Orange Gin, Moore’s Distiller’s Cut Juniper Gin amongst other gin variants, two-time IWSC gold medal winning Lemon Myrtle Liqueur, Raspberry Liqueur, Vodka and Terrigal Rum.
New to the range is Moore’s Pearl Crush Gin.
Visitors can enjoy gin tastings, distillery and garden tours, cocktail-making and gin-making experiences or relax at Bar Botanica – a cocktail bar and café serving brunch, lunch, and afternoon teas.
There’s live jazz in the garden from 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Distillery Botanica is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11am -4pm (closed Monday and Tuesday).
View the full range and class details at www.distillerybotanica.com