The Trailblazer selection
A tribute to the adventurers who came to our country from across the sea on ships, then over the Remutaka range on trains or stagecoaches to blaze the trails that bring modern pioneers to our village today.
THREE GIN SELECTION SAMPLER PACK
Trailblazer Edition
Host your own gin tasting session, take it to a party or picnic or just arrive at your friends’ place with the carry box to show you mean business. Our beloved three gin selection pack contains three 375ml stainless steel flasks, containing SEAFARER, STAGECOACH and STATIONMASTER Trailblazer gins. It comes with tasting notes, a recipe for mulled gin and two of our foil embossed Greytown Distilling Company logo coasters. This is the gift solution that will delight its recipient more than any other present they receive. You will be the gift king or queen.
SEAFARER
Between 1839 and the 1890s, several hundred sailing ships brought tens of thousands of immigrants from Europe to New Zealand, the longest sea journey in the world. Conditions were harsh, and books, quoits, gambling and fighting were the ways passengers passed time on the gruelling three month journey. London Dry gin of course would have helped relieve the boredom and start some of the fights. We’re hoping our nautically-inspired London Dry Seafarer gin will have a more positive influence on your social occasions.
Seafarer gin is like a stroll along the shoreline; you can feel the fresh salty spray from Angelica with its celery notes, some spicy cinnamon and we’ve added a hint of foraged kelp from the south coast to provide an authentic essence of the high seas. Sip it at a beach picnic, of course.
STAGECOACH
Travel by stagecoach over the treacherous Remutaka Range to Wellington was possible through an all-day journey by the Hastwell Cobb and Co mail and passenger service between 1866 and 1880; the stables, now Greytown’s Cobblestones Museum, housed up to 70 horses overnight while the coachmen enjoyed the hospitality of the Rising Sun Hotel once sited across the road. Stagecoach gin celebrates the skill and bravery of the coachmen with a distinctive, earthy and robust flavour profile.
When you drive across the wild and windy Remutakas today, look down into the valley floor to see the Horopito and Manuka that provide Stagecoach gin with its exciting peppery and nutty notes. We’ve balanced that with sweet character from Manuka Greytown Honey.
STATIONMASTER
Greytown’s Woodside Railway Station opened on 14 May 1880, operated by the Public Works Department, initially with two trains between Greytown and Wellington each day. The original station master welcoming passengers onto the platform, Robert Hodgson was the great grandfather of GDC director Adam Blackwell. Stationmaster gin pays tribute to the courageous travellers who took the nail-biting three hour journey up and over the Remutakas to arrive at Woodside, before transferring to Greytown on the connection track.
Discovering the rich, fertile soils that were formed by the river silt, a handful of Greytown’s early settlers brought apple seeds with them from England and Europe and planted the areas surrounding the new township with it’s first orchards. We’ve taken apples from some of those remaining orchards, together with walnuts and Cassia to create a deliciously delicate London Dry style gin that has earned our Martini Connoisseur status.
The Groundbreaker Selection
Our tribute to the original Greytown Six – pioneering men and women who beat staggering odds to establish New Zealand’s first planned inland European settlement.
THREE GIN SELECTION SAMPLER PACK
Groundbreaker Edition
Our tribute to the original Greytown Six – pioneering men and women who beat staggering odds to establish New Zealand’s first planned inland European settlement. The Groundbreaker three gin selection pack contains three 375ml stainless steel flasks, containing SFA, TWEED and SETTLER Groundbrealker gins. It comes with tasting notes, a recipe for mulled gin and two of our foil embossed Greytown Distilling Company logo coasters. This is the gift solution that will delight its recipient more than any other present they receive. You will be the gift king or queen.
Settler
Settler is a London Dry gin in the finest traditions of high Victorian England. It’s a nod to the toil and tenacity of Greytown’s first European families, who fixed eyes on the future but held fast to reminders of home.
Steeped in history and based on recipes extracted from dusty London tomes, Settler is a traditionalist’s gin that marries the spicy notes of coriander with the earthy profile of angelica and an herbaceous sage finish. You’ll find a little ginger and lemon peel in there too, to add some excitement and zing.
If the settlers brought a good quantity of something like this from the Mother Country, and it got as far as Greytown, it wouldn’t have lasted much longer.
Tweed
Tweed gin honours the rural sophisticate – he or she who can straddle a horse, turn a table leg or spit-roast a lamb with equal elegance and skill. It's a very special blend, handcrafted for cocktail perfection.
Fancy gin for a more refined palate, Tweed blends old world structure with new world complexity. Look for some spicy fire from the cardamom that’s immediately softened by chamomile and elderflower. You’ll also find citrus notes of lemon peel lurking beneath the surface. It’s a townie taste. These days, it should appeal to Greytown’s disproportionately high number of real estate agents and their clients. Break it out when you’ve overpaid for that character home that needs a lot of work done.
SFA
From the mid-19th century on, the Small Farms Association (SFA) sought adventurous folks to plant pasture and crops in Wairarapa’s untamed territory to feed a fast-growing nation.
We’ve gone back to basics with SFA to reflect the likelihood that early attempts by Greytown settlers to create high-quality gin were based on what could be grown and found locally. Nothing too delicate or sophisticated here – but a careful weighting of botanical extracts including eucalyptus and fennel, found together with orris to create a musky, sooty, drink-in-the-shed-around-the-stove experience. Perfect for farmers, but highly recommended for anyone who’s got the Wairarapa landscape under their skin.
