Dunedin distillery’s four-generation legacy

Born during the March 2020 lockdown, Dunedin’s No8 Distillery may be only a year old, but it’s legacy spans back more than four generations.

No8 Distillery is the first distillery to open in Dunedin since the legendary Willowbank Distillery auctioned off their last whisky barrel in 1997. Despite being new, No8 has a legacy which dates back over four generations, drawing upon treasured family recipes and distilling knowledge. 

Established by Michael Wilson & Julien Delavoie (pictured), who have already proven the nous of their business partnership through their successful café and venue ‘Dog With Two Tails’, No8 Distillery draws upon Julien’s French heritage and experience making gin, calvados and cider with his grandparents in Normandy. Teetotaller Michael brings his flavour extraction expertise from a 15 year background in coffee roasting and brewing, and bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturing. 

The name No8 Distillery is a tribute to the pair’s Kiwi ingenuity and drive to make things happen. As well as making spirits and liqueurs, they have undertaken all the distillery’s design work, construction and distilling. The pair are also constantly tinkering – coming up with new and, occasionally, better ways of extracting flavours from plants as well as running the business.

Over the past year in the Moray Place window of  their café, the pair have been collaborating and testing recipes. Now, after hundreds of tastings and lots of morning headaches they’re confident of their product and ready to share it with New Zealand and the world. Distilling in the café’s front window is part of their goal to demystify the science and make the art visible for city residents and visitors.

From the shiny, copper still named Thérèse (after Julien’s spirits-making grandmother) Julien has created a unique collection of three very different gins developed to appeal to different palates and moods.

“Everyone has different tastes and different preferences depending on the time of the day and their mood.”

Michael has a keen interest in native plants and their uses in food and medicine. When Julien requires ingredients for the still, he gives the order and Michael heads deep into the bush around Dunedin and Central Otago searching for new flavours as well as the old favourites, such as horopito, tarata, gorse flowers and thyme. 

The No8 Distillery Gin Collection now comprises: Dunners Dry Gin – No8’s vision of what a NZ dry gin can be; Hibiscus Gin – instantly recognisable thanks to its distinctive pink hue; and Horopito Gin – remarkable for the separation of flavours as they hit in four waves: citrus, cardamom, cinnamon and finally horopito. 

Among the No8 collection is Absinthe -1926, a recipe passed down by Julien’s family from their family distilling business in France. Flavour-maestro Michael says tasting Absinthe -1926 is “like being smacked in the face with a log of soft-eating liquorice”.

Sustainability and being kind to the environment underpin the ethos that this pair live by and not surprisingly it’s entwined in No8 Distillery. The beautiful No 8 bottles can be refilled and swapped at No8 and receive a $5 return credit. They chose eco paper for their labels and aim to be zero waste. This means choosing to use second grade fruit such as apricots and walnuts from Otago Farmers Market, which are often rejected as imperfect by consumers but are full of flavour for spirits making.

Where possible they choose organic fruit and ingredients. The botanic mash left after spirits are made goes to a worm farm and any excess fruit is made into marmalade.

​Trainee mixologists are expected to line up for the ‘Cocktail Workshop’, a hands-on cocktail class with Julien, demonstrating basic cocktail methods that can be used at home. Michael is also a regular at the No8 Distillery stand at Otago Farmers’ Market each Saturday, regaling the market-goers with tall tales while giving out tastings of the No8 wares.

For more go to https://www.no8distillery.com/