Canberra’s distilleries are awesome, with spirits that pull their weight on a national scale, paired with cool fit-outs and delicious food menus. A distillery visit (or even tour) is something different to fill your weekend with that might even introduce you to your new favourite drink of choice, distilled with botanicals and produce native to Canberra.
The Canberra Distillery is found in Mitchell, about a 15-minute drive from Canberra’s CBD. Their tastings are complimentary at their cellar door, but their Spirits and Chocolate experience is well worth the $25 price tag. For an hour, the team at The Canberra Distillery serve spirits paired perfectly with select locally made chocolate fudge. For those uninitiated, these pairings are as delicious as they are unique.
The Big River Distilling Co. and the Ambrosia Distillery are neighbours, found two minutes away from each other in the Fyshwick Dairy Road Precinct. Big River focuses on gin, with their tasting paddle a hit amongst their regulars. Try three of their gins with mixers and garnishes for $15. You should include their Cinn Gin, a cinnamon-infused spirit. If that isn’t unique enough for you, there are options like fig gin liqueur and mandarin gin to test out also.
Ambrosia Distillery has similarly interesting flavours. Their award-winning lychee vodka was followed up by a mango variant, which joins their collection of vodkas like apple and cinnamon, toffee, lemon myrtle and coffee. They intend for the use of their spirits to make the perfect specialty cocktails, and so their cocktail menu is amazing. There are typical classics alongside concoctions like the Lemon Myrtini, made all the better using their spirits in their creations. You can try an extended range at the nearby Ambrosia Lounge Cocktail Bar, stocked entirely with Ambrosia Spirits.
Underground Spirits is a spot about a 20-minute drive from the CBD, but their spirits are a staple at Canberra festivals and markets throughout the year. Of the Canberra distilleries, they are the most highly awarded, with their local ingredients and Snowy Mountain water distilling signature gins and vodkas. Their interiors are unassuming, and their label minimalistic, but this off-the-beaten-track distillery is a surprisingly sophisticated visit that’ll have you leaving with a few bottles of your own.