A TALE involving a popular Mount Gambier sinkhole, four friends and their year-long venture to create the ultimate local craft gin has won over the Limestone Coast public.
The first batch of Sinkhole Gin, inspired by Mount Gambier’s iconic Kilsby Sinkhole, will go into production following a successful crowdfunding campaign on Pozible.
The all-or-nothing campaign hit its original target of $20,000 in just over two days, delighting four founders Stuart Edwards, Kris Hamilton and brothers Ben and Graham Kilsby.
Ben said he was “blown away” by how quickly the campaign hit its mark.
“Obviously, we have got a lot of gin lovers around who liked our story and are keen to see a new addition to South Australia’s craft gin range,” he said.
Designed to champion the Limestone Coast region, the gin takes its main flavour profile from muntries – a tiny native cranberry – and is produced using limestone-filtered water, direct from the aquifer feeding the sinkhole.
The story started about a year ago when Ben received a late night message from his friends, who were brainstorming at a popular Adelaide watering hole.
“Starting a gin company has been our favourite topic of conversation for a while now, but that was the night we thought about how amazing it would be to use the water from the sinkhole – the purest water in Australia – to make the gin,” he said.
For Ben and his brother Graham – fourth generation Kilsbys and custodians of the family’s resident sinkhole – it was the perfect pairing.
But the finer details of actually producing a gin “from sinkhole to glass” were all new to the four friends.
“We had to discover everything for ourselves, from legalities to bottling procedure and also find a distiller who shared our vision and was happy to work with us to produce something unique,” Ben said.
“To a gin lover, the whole experience from aroma to palate is paramount and we got very involved in the whole process.
“Of course, there was a lot of very professional taste testing involved.”
With the original crowdfunding target reached, the team now hopes to reach $35,000 and produce a second batch of Sinkhole and Limoncello gin, for delivery in time for Christmas.
While the foursome are not after world gin market domination, they do have some lofty plans for the company’s future.
“In the next year or two, we would like to be producing the gin in a specially designed copper still, right at the source, next door to Kilsby Sinkhole,” Ben said.
“We imagine people will be able to visit the sinkhole, sample both gins and watch as the products are created right in front of them – it will be an experience.”
Ben said the campaign had been a “gin win” for four unlikely blokes, who saw a unique business opportunity and ran with it.
“It is quite incredible that our little crew – a farmer, data scientist, finance manager and a community engagement officer – have become South Australia’s newest craft gin producers,” Ben said.
“Here’s a toast to all of those people who have supported us.”
