We the people of the Gold Coast are very much community-loving people. We’re all about supporting each other and having a very good time while we do it. Which is why it’s the very best news when a sweet, new space opens up and particularly one that creates their very own brand of gin.
Yes, Gold Coasters we have a new gin distillery on our hands and they are bottling up a very smooth, flavoursome drop indeed. It’s called Wildflower Gin, it can be found on Scottsdale Drive in Varsity Lakes and you’re likely to be visiting there quite a lot from now on.
Wildflower Gin is the work of James Greig and a team of passionate distillers who have over the past few years managed to create what they’ve deemed ‘Burleigh in a bottle’, a gin filled with locally grown botanicals including cardamom, lemon myrtle and coriander plus a little drop of honey from James’ own Burleigh backyard.
It’s a very easy drinking drop, a little bit floral and paired perfectly with either tonic (ask the team which is best) or solo over ice (tried and tested).
The brand came about as a hobby for James, who is quite the multi-passionate local business owner. He began with a very small Still to see if he could make it work and of course, he could.
Now the space boasts Walter, a beautiful copper Still that initially had the job of pumping out an unimaginable amount of hand sanitizer because Wildflower launched right at the beginning of lockdown time. Which may have seemed unlucky but actually allowed James and the team to both help the local community with something we desperately needed (REMEMBER) and make a few new friends along the way.
All of whom are now die-hard fans of Wildflower Signature Gin and for good reason.
At the moment, the space is mostly a cellar door affair so you can pop in, pick up a bottle and head on home again. If you’d prefer to stay a little longer and you probably will, you can book in for a make-your-own-gin class where the team will take you through the exact steps of making your own personal bottle of gin in a tiny little still and with an array of botanicals to choose from. You can book in for a class on the website right now.
What a time to be alive.
Either way, you’re going to want to sample Wildflowers’ initial offering ASAP and keep an eye out for upcoming limited edition releases in the future.
See, supporting local businesses and having a good time, we’re all about it.
LOCATION: 486 Scottsdale Rd, Varsity Lakes
HOURS: 2.30pm to 5pm weekdays and 11am to 6pm Saturday
Words and photos by Kirra Smith
