| 23 T T Rosa Watson Award-winning distillery offers tours with a tipple Julien Delavoi with one of his top tipples. Dunedin: No8 Distillery: NZ Spirit Awards REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Accounting and Tax Compliance Contact us at Proud to support No.8 Distillery Business Development Solutions Specialist Tax Advice Xero Solutions 03 474 0475 | info@pkfd.nz www.pkfd.nz A Dunedin distillery is tapping into the local tourism market with novel ways of attracting visitors to the central city premises. Julien Delavoie, a French native, started No8 Distillery three years ago, producing gin, rum, absinthe, ouzo, liqueurs and more recently vodka. The distillery is four generations in the making, with Julian’s family hailing from Deauville in the Normandy region and producing Calvados, an apple liqueur and specialty of the region, since 1910. Having moved to Dunedin with his partner in 2016, Julien met Michael Wilson, an ex-military engineer, and they hatched a plan to open a boutique distillery in the heart of the city. Following the closure of the Willowbank Distillery in 1997, their distillery was the first of its kind within Central Dunedin. The pair spent countless hours perfecting their craft, using a unique blend of foraged native botanicals such as Horopito, Tarata, and Kawakawa, in combination with macerating, distilling, and mixology techniques. “The key was to tweak the (family) recipe with local ingredients,” Julien said. In 2016, Julien created the brand’s first gin, Horopito Gin, made with eight main ingredients, from which the No8 brand derived its name. France was “not a gin country”, so the Horopito recipe was created in New Zealand, embracing the uniqueness of the peppery native plant. In January 2022, the company moved to its Hanover Street premises, aiming to scale up production and offer functions, retail services, tours and tastings. They will relocate once again next year to accommodate the increased production for the new rum project in barrels, as well host the dedicated cruise ship tours visiting this year. The company is passionate about sustainability in every part of the business, from using local products, sourcing botanicals through foraging, and maintaining a strong connection to Dunedin growers. They use fresh and repurposed products to create new premium spirits like fruit liqueurs and vodka, and customers can earn rewards by swapping and refilling their bottles, alongside offering bulk discounts for hospitality businesses. The Moka Gin is made from locally sourced by-products such as cocoa husk from Ocho “We offer a different type of tour and tastings … you can come and do a foraging tour with me. After we come back to the distillery you can concoct your own potion.” Chocolatiers and Cascara from Vanguard Coffee. Organic citrus is sourced from Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, and rainwater is captured for the double steam jacket and condenser still. All organic products are given to local growers for composting, and they recycle pretty much everything, producing just one bag of general waste per month. The distillery has not gone unnoticed by the industry internationally, picking up 35 awards across its range of products. Last year the Horopito Gin was recognised as the world’s best New Zealand contemporary-style gin at the World Gin Awards, and their Ouzo become a New Zealand trophy winner in the botanical and other spirits category. Most recently, the No8 Absinthe – with a recipe hailing from 1926– was crowned Absinthe of the Year at the American Spirits Awards, alongside a Gold Award, and for the Horopito too. Although No.8 products are stocked in bottle stores across New Zealand, they also host a stall at the Dunedin Farmers market every Saturday, which remains well supported by locals and tourists alike. In addition, they are stocked at Aelia Duty Free locations in Queenstown, Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch, and Auckland. Most recently, they have expanded their presence within the Auckland Duty Free, now holding a chic 4x4 stall space in which travellers can sample No8 Products. They are Qualmark Registered which gives them further access to the tourism space, alongside working with the Dunedin iSite, who often coordinate events for the many cruise ship passengers who visit the city. “We offer a different type of tour and tastings … you can come and do a foraging tour with me. After we come back to the distillery you can concoct your own potion.” Julien said distilling was a growing industry, and there were outfits popping up across the country. “You need to think about what others are doing or can do and offer something different.”
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