We’re a little over half way into the year now, and 2020 has barely given us a respite from the bad news.
With COVID-19 helping to blend the days, weeks and months together, it can be hard to remember the small section of time between horrible bushfires and an unprecedented pandemic. But it’s within this period that the seed of some good news was sown for two Victorian distillers, who spent a weekend in February collaborating on a new release they hoped would support their businesses after the devastation of the Black Summer crisis.
Anther Spirits and Reed and Co Distillery, located in the regional Victorian towns of North Geelong and Bright respectively, have now unveiled this collaborative creation, called Family Roadtrip Gin.
The distillers’ and long time friends brought their families together in Bright to infuse the gin with the different regional flavours of both Anther Spirits and Reed and Co, to create an amalgamated gin that celebrates Victoria from the mountains to the sea. Anther’s Owners and Distillers, Dervilla McGowan and Sebastian Reaburn, said it’s something they’ve wanted to do for a while, and the end result is the bottled essence of a family holiday, without breaking COVID restrictions.
“We’ve wanted to make a gin with Hamish and Rachel [owner and distillers of Reed & Co] for years,” Reaburn said.
“We have brought the best parts of the beach and the bush together in this gin. It’s bright and fresh. Perfect for cocktail making at the end of a road trip to Geelong or Bright.”
Although originally intended for release over Easter, 2020 obviously had other plans. The gin now also will help support Anther and Reed and Co’s businesses through the hardships that the pandemic has added to an already tough year for Australian distillers.
But as Anther Spirits said, the tenacity of small Victorian businesses is strong, and they haven’t let the hard times stop them from creating another delicious gin.
There’s never been a better time to support local distillers. You can do this with the Family Roadtrip Gin, available now in 500ml bottles for $68 on the Anther website or the Reed and Co website.
