On the trail

I really don’t know how or when to stop.

The Inner West Distillery Trail was officially launched by Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne last night at Red Mill Rum and I scored an invite.

So, of course, I attended.

I was a bit knackered for the bus hopping required to get to Rozelle, but my friend Shae was the PR for the event and I’d promised to take my spirits blender friend and fellow judge at the Australian Gin Awards, Silvia (below) along with me, so I took a deep breath and braved the commute.

It followed a working day that started at 7am and totally wiped me out. You can probably tell from my exhausted eyes.

Anyways, the event was lots of fun.

It celebrated distillers from Marrickville and the Balmain-Lilyfield districts joining together with the council to establish the initiative.

It aims to shine a light on the world-class drinks and spirits that are being made in Sydney’s own backyard.

Red Mill was located in the most amazing, enormous warehouse space. Absolutely stunning and worth a visit for gawping purposes alone!

There are nine distilleries to explore on the trail, from Blackwattle Distilling Co to Ester Spirits, Eureka Distilling, Lily Fields Distilling Co, Moonshiner Distilling Collaboration, Otter Craft Distilling, Poor Toms, Red Mill Rum and Unexpected Guest Distillery.

Here’s my arty cocktail shot from the event …

The Inner West is already very well know for its craft breweries.

But Felix Clark and Corinna Kovner – who officially launching Ester Spirits in 2020 and went on to win Best in Show at the Australian Gin Awards that same year – reckon the breadth of award-winning and quality distillers in the Inner West has been well-known within the industry for years, but not outside of it.

“We’ve been the Dannii Minogue to the breweries’ Kylie,” he says.