Page 43 - Food&Drink magazine April-May 2023

ALL IN THE PROCESS
One thing that sets Never Never apart is that it distils juniper three ways to give more depth and complexity to the product.
Boast explains the technique is not common. “Infusing the juniper in three separate ways into our gin isn’t a standard process at all. It’s more expensive and labour intensive, however it’s a process that highlights the complexity of the juniper berry when it’s turned into gin and tonics and classic cocktails.”
Baxter adds, “Our Triple Juniper Process is important to deliver the ultimate flavour bomb. When we started producing, we always wanted to cause a stir with the gin we were making. By concentrating flavour to the highestlevel,wegiveourselvesthe best possible chance of creating a gin that would work with anything you threw at it.”
From that foundation, Boast adds a delicate balance of botanicals to complement the classic juniper driven gin profile: lemon and lime peel to add citrus; orris and angelica root to provide floral and savoury notes; cinnamon bark for warmth; liquorice root for sweetness; and Tasmanian pepper berry.
“ Infusing the juniper in three separate ways into our gin isn’t a standard process at all. It’s more expensive and labour intensive, however it’s a process that highlights the complexity of the juniper berry.”
BEVERAGE PRODUCTION
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:
Never Never’s Triple Juniper Gin is named after the distillery’s distillation process.
Distiller Tim Boast with Never Never’s original still, Wendy, in their new home.
The Oyster Shell Gin resulted from a collaboration with Society Restaurant.
Founders (l-r): George Georgiadis, Tim Boast, and Sean Baxter.
MOVE TO MCLAREN VALE
The distillery recently moved from Port Adelaide to McLaren Vale, with the new site housing its 1000-litre Carl still from Germany called Nancy (named after Boast’s gin-loving grandmother), its original 200-litre still, Wendy, and opening a cellar door. Nancy can produce about 2000 bottles.
The move has enabled Never Never to counter the two biggest energy consumables in distilling – power and water – and other production by- products in a sustainable way.
Boast explains, “Our stills are powered by the sun, there is a large solar panel system on the roof that provides the power to operate the still.
“Thewaterforthecondenseris recycled onto the lawn and surrounding vineyards so it doesn’t go to waste. Raw materials are collected by a green composter and turned into fertiliser.
“As we scale, we continue to take sustainability considerations through every element of packaging, from glass, to label to stopper.”
LOOKING AHEAD
“By its very nature, small batch distillation is an expensive
undertaking so many Australian gins sit at a higher price point. This certainly might be a key concern as inflationandcostoflivingrises, but we’ve also seen gin consumers actively seeking out better quality of product and the premium end of the market will continue to grow,” Georgiadis says.
For Never Never, performing consistently well on the international stage – being recognised on the awards circuit, and expanding into new export markets (France, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, Hungary, and Taiwan in the last
12 months) – makes the future even more exciting.
The team says they will continue to develop collaborativeproductsandhave a couple of “top-secret releases in the works”.
Georgiadis says while the essence of distillation and key production methods largely remain unchanged, as they have for hundreds (even thousands) of years, there is still scope for exciting flavour innovations and creative ingredient selections to captivate gin lovers – and that’s just what Never Never intends to keep on doing. ✷
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | April/May 2023 | Food&Drink business | 43