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By Dave Withers, Master DistillerISSUE #003 FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH | Community

10,000 TOURS AND COUNTING…

It is no surprise to those acquainted with Archie Rose that we aim to produce world-class spirits in an environment that educates and inspires around the process of distilling. Since sliding open our doors in March 2015, we have welcomed over 10,000 people for tours through the Archie Rose Distillery. In the spirit of reigniting Sydney’s once thriving distilling industry, this number has far exceeded expectations, reiterating a genuine interest in the distilling process.

Historically, distilleries were industrial enterprises, tucked away in remote locales with few insights into production provided to the public.

Archie Rose had different ideas, creating a fully transparent, boutique distillery in Sydney’s Rosebery, just 5km from the CBD and creating daily tours to showcase this. From the design and location of the distillery to the popularity of the tours and our Tailored Spirits range, breaking down pre-conceived ideas around spirits and distilling has been at the core of Archie Rose and we hope creates a greater connection to the end product.

A typical Archie Rose distillery tour begins in the bar with a brief history of Australian distilling. We then move just three metres across the corridor to the distillery for a 45 minute tour, with the aim of walking you through the entire process of whisky, gin and vodka production from beginning to end.

We were lucky and extremely proud to win a Distillery Master Medal for Consumer Experience at the Global Spirits Master series in London earlier this year in recognition of the tours, tastings, masterclasses and our Tailored Spirits. In a comment by one of the judges:

“They’re doing something different and I think the younger discerning consumer would engage with that very well. The detail they’ve gone into shows it’s very much about educating people.”

As luck would have it, the tours end with a tasting flight at the Archie Rose Bar. The $20 price tag is pretty enticing too, featuring recently on Urban List as one of the Top 50 Things to do under $20 (we came in at #20).

Cheers to that! We hope to see you soon at one of our Archie Rose Distillery tours for a nip or two.