Business Central December 2021

| 3 BUSINESS Juno Gin Dave and Jo James in their gin distillery. Exploring the world of gin making T Karen Phelps 237 St Aubyn St, New Plymouth | Ph. 06 769 6799 | taranaki@shedboss.co.nz www.tandemgroup.co.nz | Call Jamie Sutherland or Brent Abbott on 06 758 5273 Supporting and empowering business Proud to Support Juno Gin Chartered Accountants J uno Gin is about to open its cellar door to the public. Since launching four years ago, Dave and Jo James have grown their multi- award winning New Zealand gin to the point that the next logical step was a pur- pose-built building for people to stop in, taste and explore. “We recognised there is an appetite for people to come and find out more about our gin and to allow their palettes to experiment with flavours,” says Dave. “People see a bottle of gin and don’t under- stand what gin making involves. A bottle of gin can typically use many different botanicals. For example Juno Extra Fine Gin has juniper at its heart with coriander bringing warmth and a hint of lemon. Other key botanicals include orris root, kaffir lime leaves, green cardamom, angelica root, manuka and cassia bark. So the cellar door is also a way of championing the local producers of our ingredients,” adds Jo. Lockdown has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works but the cellar door is on the brink of completion and will be opened as level restrictions allow. It will include a shop and tasting room and the couple also plan to use the space to hold tours, tasting sessions and cocktail making events, which will be adver- tised on their website, through social media and ticket selling sites. As an essential service, Juno has continued to operate during lockdowns for online orders and contactless pickup and the couple has noticed an upswing in demand as people have become more familiar with purchasing online, helping the Juno brand to become even more recognised. In addition to its signature Juno Extra Fine Gin the couple also produce popular seasonal gins four times a year. To do this they simply go out foraging to find fresh ingredients, such as fruits and leaves that have flourished through the season, and make distinctive limited edition gins that are all unique. The couple are about to launch a Blank Canvas competition on their website and social media channels with a $1000 prize for people to design their next limited edition label. They are also working with New Zealand horticulturalists to eventually grow and har- vest all their botanical ingredients sustainably, establishing new crops for future growth. Their parent company BeGin Distillery Limited was recently awarded a Massey University grant, along with Greentec Propagation, to re- search, evaluate and identify New Zealand ju- niper berry strains and propagation methods. Sustainability is at the heart of Juno. The couple worked with its Taranaki engineering team Rivet during the still design phase to create a beautiful copper still that minimised waste production and included handling systems to allow recycling of by-products into other industries. For example, the liquid by-products have been used to make beer and the botanicals to make chocolate truffles. There is a built-in system to harvest and store rainwater for the cooling condenser and design aspects have been incorporated to prevent and recover any heat loss during the distillation. The 700ml bottle labels are printed with organic inks and are fully recyclable. Juno Gin is sold New Zealand wide and exported to Australia, Singapore and Switzer- land. It has won numerous awards including double gold at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in San Francisco and back-to- back selection by the NZ Gin Guide as its pick for the Top Classic New Zealand gin.