How did the Best Gin Distillery in East Gippsland get started?

My love of gin started back in 2018 after a dinner with friends who introduced me to Four Pillars Rare Dry and Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic Water. I'd had gin and tonic before, even gin and squash (that thought now makes me sick) and was never really a fan until this dinner. I joined a gin club and started receiving my regular deliveries of some fantastic craft gins and I was hooked. 
Then Covid hit. We were on a family camping trip in East Gippsland when the first wave started and fell in love with Metung on a drive around the area, so much so that during the first lockdown in Victoria we purchased a property there.

So that’s how we got to Metung but how did we start making gin?

I had previously dabbled in home brewing and started looking into making my own gin. After quickly realising it can’t be done legally at home I decided to start experimenting, infusing vodka with botanicals. Once we started spending more time in Metung I soon realised that there were no distilleries in the region and said to my wife, Sally, how cool would it be to open a distillery in Metung. A friend has an Airbnb in Metung and I had mocked up a label to put on a $2 bottle for her to use in a photoshoot for her property. The photographer tagged Bancroft Bay Distillery in an Instagram post and the next thing everyone in Metung was talking about this new distillery opening in town. I thought why not and started seriously looking into it.
I spoke to some local businesses in the area, sounding out their interest in stocking my gin if I were to make it and received some positive feedback. While researching how to start a distillery I came across an organisation called The Distiller’s Institute that ran a course on starting up a distillery business. I enrolled and completed the course which gave me all the tools and information I needed to get started. Once I’d received all the appropriate licences and permissions, I got to work on perfecting my recipes.

A future gin distillery in East Gippsland?

Yes that’s the dream and the goal we’re working towards. In someone’s famous words ‘It won’t happen overnight but it will happen!’. We can't wait for the day we open the doors to our gin distillery in Metung, we can see it and we talk about it all the time so watch this space. In the meantime continue to support us and know that one day you’ll drive into Metung village and we’ll be there to greet you with a Bancroft Bay gin paddle and grazing plate and the widest of smiles.