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It seems Australians have a renewed thirst for gin, and Tasmania is answering the call.
Artisan distilleries are popping up all over the state, and there are more than 130 different varieties of Tasmanian gin on the market.
One of the operations is Hellfire Bluff Distillery near Boomer Bay in the state's south-east.
The Daly family has been growing potatoes for 30 years, and decided to add value nearly three years ago.
"We just found with the washed potatoes we were losing too many, and just having to feed them to the cows, so we thought 'what can we do with the waste products?'" Nathan Daly said.
The family processes about 600 tonnes of potatoes a year, but 20 per cent of the crop is considered second grade.
"There wasn't really a market for a second-grade potato, so we had to develop a way to add value, so we opened Hellfire Bluff Distillery," his sister Ruby said.
The family has developed a potato vodka, a dry gin and are in the process of developing a potato gin.
"We started off with vodka, and we were down at the Salamanca market every Saturday," Ruby said.
"Once we brought in our gin product, we almost doubled in sales instantly, because gin is such a huge thing at the moment ... everybody loves gin."
Part of gin's attraction for producers is that it is a spirit that does not require long maturation, meaning quick returns.
There are now 22 different brands of Tasmanian gin on the market.
Sloe berry gin proving a hit
At Dodges Ferry in the state's south, Rex Burdon has been experimenting with sloe berries for the past three years.
Photo:
Nonesuch Distillery at Dodges Ferry uses sloe berries for its gin. (ABC News: Annah Fromberg)
The berries — originating from the UK — are similar to blueberries, but more sour, and are sourced from properties around northern Tasmania.
Mr Burdon said there was a big demand.
"I think because it's so different, it's proving extremely popular," he said.
"We get people who detour on the way to the airport to grab a bottle to take back to Aunty Mary, or they've forgotten a gift from Tasmania.
"It's proved a lot more popular than we thought, and thankfully we've been able to uncover enough sloes to keep up with demand."
Mr Burdon said there had definitely been a boom in the industry.
"We have more distilleries in Tasmania than they have in Ireland at the moment, and there are more coming online."
Mr Burdon welcomes newcomers, but hopes they maintain the high standard of gin being produced.
"What we want to make sure of in Tasmania is that everyone maintains this really high standard.
"[We want to make sure] Tasmania becomes known not as the whisky island, or the gin island, or the vodka island, but it becomes a collective of all of those things.
"We [want to] become the distillery island."
Waiting list for copper stills
Australia's only maker of copper stills, Peter Bailly, is benefiting from Tasmania's booming gin industry.
The former boiler maker, based in Hobart, fell into the trade almost accidentally.
"I met Bill Lark, and he was telling me about his own plans for his own still, and he asked us to design his ideas into engineering," he said.
That was in 2001, and since then he has made 75 stills.
He said he was struggling to keep up with demand, with a waiting list of about 12 months.
"It seems like there is a boom now, a lot of people want to get into it, get on the band wagon," he said.
Bill Lark is considered the father of distilling in the state, and said the growth was exciting.
"The excitement around Australia is 'Everything Tasmanian'," he said.
"We've got restaurants in Sydney that have only got one gin in the restaurant, and it's a Tasmanian gin.
"First the whisky isle, now the gin isle — wouldn't that be wonderful."
Topics: tourism, food-and-beverage, beverages, tas
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