IRONBARK Distillery is a boutique spirits producer tucked away in the industrial estate on William Street in North Richmond.
“We’re the Hawkesbury’s best kept secret!” said Greta Papps, who owns and runs the company along with her husband, Reg.
Mr Papps worked in distilling for a multinational company for almost 30 years before the duo launched the Ironbark brand.
“We’re a fantastic team working together. I do the sales side and Reg does the distillation,” Mrs Papps told the Gazette.
Ironbark Distillery produces six products - two dry gins (one with a twist from native Australian wattleseed), two moonshines, a vodka and a chai spirit.
All these products are made on the North Richmond premises, using Australian-grown grain and proofed with locally-sourced water.
The spirits are filtered through a carbon filter system built by Mr Papps, and are made in a specially-designed still, and bottled by hand.
Ironbark’s offerings are ‘scored’ by Nicks Wine Merchants in Melbourne, according to their clarity, taste, whether they are palatable, and if the aromas are fresh.
“All of our spirits score 90 to 100, which makes them premium to super premium,” said Mrs Papps.
“When we got our first tasting notes back we were shocked and thought, oh my god we’re on a winner!”
The team’s signature creation, 313 Dry Gin, is currently being judged by a panel of experts from around the globe, tasked with naming the world’s best traditional gin for the World Drink Awards.
This particular gin has already been named best traditional gin in Australia, and is now up against products from Canada, Germany, the UK and USA for the world title, which will be announced on Thursday, March 20 at an event at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel in London.
Judging for the title is a six-month process, during which samples of the five contending spirits are flown to various countries where they are blind-tasted and judged against a list of demanding criteria.
The winner of the Best Traditional Gin award will then be in the running for the ultimate prize of World’s Best Gin.
“Best traditional gin in the world is the award we’ve always wanted to win,” said Mrs Papps.
The distillery has been operating since 2014, and Mr and Mrs Papps have been Hawkesbury residents for 14 years.
“We wanted to keep it local, and the mystique of putting a distillery in the foothills of the Blue Mountains is very attractive to a lot of people,” said Mrs Papps.
“All our ingredients are from Australia, apart from the juniper berries - as no-one grows juniper berries in Australia. But that’s what we pride ourselves on, always keeping it local.”
Hawkesbury residents can pick up a bottle of Ironbark’s 313 Dry Gin at The Bottle-O Kurmond and Wilberforce Cellars. It is also offered on the drinks list for customers dining at Loxley on Bellbird Hill.
The Ironbark range of products can be purchased online via the company’s website (ironbarkdistillery.com.au), and the distillery also sells direct to wholesalers, as well as to punters via tastings - which are $20 per head, by appointment only.
Mrs Papps said the duo wrote a cocktail list every six months to send out to their suppliers.
“Our gins are very traditional. There are only five botanicals in our Dry Gin. Our Dry Wattleseed Gin has six,” she said.
“Because the gins are standouts you need to pair them with traditional cocktails. The Dry Gin is great with lemon and lime or in a negroni, and the Dry Wattleseed Gin is fantastic with a slice of orange, though some people prefer lime.”
If Ironbark Distillery takes-out the gong next month for the world’s best traditional gin, Mr and Mrs Papps will be looking at more export opportunities for their products, including to the UK, France, China, and possibly the USA.
“It’s probably one of the world’s most prestigious awards. This sort of award takes you globally,” said Mrs Papps.
“We’re up against some brands that have export already all over Europe, fairly large brands, which is fairly intimidating to us! But I’m a realist, so I say we’ve got a one-in-five chance of winning.”
The distillery already has a host of awards under its belt, including Australian Gin Distillery of the Year at the Melbourne International Spirit Awards in 2015, and multiple medals at the renowned San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2016.
Ironbark’s 313 Dry Gin is also a contender at the Chinese Wine and Spirit Awards, and winners will be announced on Monday, February 20.
