June 15th, 2020Distillery: Local, sustainable, unique
HEPBURN Springs Distillery had its official opening on the Queen’s Birthday weekend. Based in Lyonville on the old site of Gleeson’s Hotel, they produce an exclusive selection of gins and vodkas using sweet waters of the Wombat hills drawn from the property’s original well.
The distillery is the brainchild of artist and writer Basil Eliades who, in a significant change of life direction is now applying his talents to bringing to life a fascination with distilling that began several decades ago in places as diverse as Sweden and Mongolia.
“As an artist I find distilling is not so different to painting and writing,” says Basil. “What I’m doing, like in any creative process, is simply following an almost energetic- like logic to what things need in that moment.”
Inspired by the cool environment of the surrounding forest, he was inspired to make a product that was free of chemicals and low in food miles. He sources many of the raw materials locally, organically and seasonally and grows some of the botanicals on the property.
“The words are local, sustainable, unique,” he says. “They are really important to us and everything we are doing here is about terroir or the idea of place encompassing the complete natural environment including factors such as the soil, topography, and climate.
“For me it is real alchemy, you take a potato that has been growing in the ground, generating energy and simply by warming it, adding enzymes, other natural things, then running it through the still to split it, you concentrate the energy and create a fuel source which is extraordinary. And then, if you put that fuel into contact with wood you are literally turning spuds into gold.”
In this case, gold is an aged potato vodka. Stored in oak, it radiates a golden hue with a rich, full flavour with smoky, caramel and vanilla overtones. They also offer a full-bodied premium white vodka and two types of gin – the Lyonville Classic Dry and a Bittersweet Lemon, ideal for cold winter evenings in front of the fire (or even YouTube).
All of these are currently available online, at Cellarbrations Daylesford or through local restaurants, with more suppliers to be announced soon. But that’s not all, Hepburn Springs Distillery has also laid down a couple of casks of whisky. But you will have to be patient, their Well Water Whisky, as it’s called, won’t be available until Christmas 2021.
“Living close to the earth and the cycles of nature means that every batch of spirit we make is unique. Being small and seasonal gives us the opportunity to forage, experiment with flavour and make use of gluts in produce. In Autumn we pick blackberries for our gin, in Winter we harvest excess lemons. Each season provides new opportunities for experimentation with new flavour combinations.”
Words: Tony Sawrey | Image: Jane Knight & Basil Eliades
