Hellfire Bluff Distillery
By:
MacTavish West
Date:
24th July 2019
The Brief: Susie Daly (Daly Potato Co.) commissioned MacTavish West to develop flavours for a new range of unique Tasmanian gins to add to their potato vodka, which is distilled on-site in Dunalley, Tasmania.
The Action: Hazel undertook thorough research of the market, the product and the distillation process, and added in many learnings from her PhD in terms of optimising the extraction of flavours from botanicals into solvents like ethanol (i.e. gin production). The team brainstormed potential ingredients, and then got busy in the lab. The most promising gin formulae were blind taste-tested with a team of gin aficionados to ensure the gins Susie launched were at least as popular as mainstream and other award-winning Tasmanian gins. The Daly team invested in a gin still and a commercial facility, and MacTavish West trialled scale-up, matching organoleptics with lab samples.
“It was great working with Darren and Hazel, they understood what we were trying to achieve and focused on developing unique gins for us, and testing them on experts who were able to provide feedback. This helped us identify the appropriate botanical blends to launch, at the best % ABV. We are very proud of our gins, and we greatly enjoyed the process of development”. Ruby Daly, Hellfire Bluff Distillery.
The Outcomes:
• Hellfire Bluff London Dry Gin (45% ABV): A traditional recipe including juniper berries, coriander seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, citrus peel and orris root. A fabulous sipping gin, or a great base for a gin and tonic, martini or cocktail.
• Hellfire Bluff Piquant Gin (45% ABV): A London dry gin recipes base, with enriched citrus, green and spicy notes from a unique and complex range of spicy and leafy botanicals including olive, lemon myrtle and Tasmanian Mountain/Native pepper leaf. A bold, highly “green” gin, designed to hold a bold flavour in a gin and tonic.
• Hellfire Bluff Summer Gin (40% ABV): This beautiful gin has a traditional London dry base, with Leatherwood honey, Tasmanian Mountain/Native pepperberries, cloves and lemongrass (plus a few secret ingredients), as well as the natural floral fragrance from Brown Boronia flowers. This gin is perfect for sipping, either over ice or neat.
Awards:
• Both Hellfire Bluff Piquant and Summer Gins won Silver at the 2018 Australian Distilled Spirits Awards.
• All three gins were listed in the top 100 Hottest Australian & New Zealand Gins for 2018 in Ginuary 2019, Covent Garden www.coventgarden.com.au/ginuary-2019
• Hellfire Bluff Summer and Piquant gins won GOLD and BRONZE respectively at the 2019 Australian gin awards https://australianginawards.com.au/
