HEARING the positive story of the new Tumbarumba distilling business starting on their journey is quite encouraging.
From humble beginnings as a home–based craft business launched just over 12 months ago, the husband–and–wife team of Robbie and Neil were thrilled to have opened their Ladbroken Distilling Co. Tumbarumba distillery tasting room.
Visitors step into a different world when they open the shiny copper door and can expect to be taken on a taste adventure with tasting flights and samples available of the various spirits crafted on site.
They recently had an open day for the community to "have a sticky beak and see what is happening inside", conducting tours throughout the day.
"We had locals and people from Wagga, people from Corryong and Victoria coming up for day trips," said Robbie Ladbrook.
"They were all keen gin tasters, some of them had been to distilleries before and some had never before, so they were curious. They were wowed by our cosy venue."
The space is cosy and compact, includes a tasting bar, a viewing window into the production area and large apothecary of ingredients on display so everyone has the chance to see the distillation process and botanical ingredients up close. Robbie, who develops all the recipes for the gin range also runs the tasting room on the weekends.
"I love the gasp of surprise that people make as they come in. The sumptuous décor makes it a warm and cosy place to gindulge in a new experience and learn a bit about our craft."
Their distilling start has been a whirlwind ride, and such has been the initial success of the business, their five year target was reached surprisingly quick. "Certainly exceeded all our expectations," was how Robbie recently described the beginning.
"Yeah, we surpassed it at the Christmas point actually. So, it was six months in."
"And while we thought we would take a few years as a weekend hobby to get to that stage, we were sort of there by Christmas and it was it was go hard or go home I think for us. So we pushed hard this year to get the venue open and take those extra steps."
They were thrilled to be launching the 'Cocktail Club' for their first–year anniversary which will see the venue operate like a prohibition style speakeasy from 4pm–6pm on Saturday evenings serving up full serve drinks and cocktails using their gin.
Their main product has been their gin range, and they have just released their strawberry infused spring edition back on the market, using strawberries from Wagga Wagga.
Neil recently has added the whiskey distillation, another exciting chapter in their growing business. "We finally got that happening after being side tracked by the gin." That will age now for three years in a barrel.
"We had the plan and finding the right premises was important. So for us it had the space, it had the right zoning and it had three phase power, and it had three acres for the garden and a really great location, an unusual location but perfect for us."
"It's great to be able to finally welcome people to our site and introduce them not only to our craft and spirits but also show them the different plants that we grow on site and use in our gins."
"We find that people are dropping in because they are curious and because we are located right in the middle of town, they can walk to us as they wander along the Creekscape visiting the sculptures or exploring town. "
"We also have pooch friendly seating outdoors in the gazebo area and bike parking for those who have finished riding the rail trail."
Reservations for the Cocktail Club can be booked online along with Distillery Discovery Experiences which are conducted each Saturday at midday allowing participants to discover first–hand how the spirits are made and bottled.