New gin distilled off-grid on Great Barrier

Andi Ross is about to release her new-to-market Island Gin, distilled on Great Barrier Island, and it has been three years in the making. 

Copper pot distilled, using locally-harvested Island honey with organically certified Macedonian juniper berries and triple-filtered rainwater, Island Gin is bottled in a unique recycled glass bottle that uses recycled glass from the Island and other parts of New Zealand. Its unique kīna inspired design evokes memories of the colours of the kina and the water surrounding the Island. No two bottles are exactly the same colour.

Island Gin collaborated with glass manufacturer O-I New Zealand to develop its bottle over several years, creating the elegant look and feel of the bespoke bottle that Island Gin’s owner and distiller Andi Ross (pictured) designed with her friend Tanja Ledwich.

“Just as no two kīna are the same, no two bottles are the same,” says Andi. “Each bottle has a minimal but captivating green colour variation that occurs during the production process, changing between Sea Green and Arctic Blue. So in a way that mimics nature, each bottle is both of its kind and unique in and of itself.”

“Originally I just had a bottle that came off the shelf, it wasn’t unique, with a massive footprint. It was imported from Europe which meant the money stayed in Europe. That just didn’t sit right with me I don’t believe you can bring a product into the world these days without a transparent footprint.”

Working with O-I, which has a manufacturing facility in Auckland, Andi was able to collaborate on design to create something beautiful that matched her ethos, and would express her dream of sustainability through the bottles themselves.

This was the smallest run that O-I had produced and it was experimental for the company to create bottles in this way. “My bottle run happens between the clear glass and brown glass transition. This was something O-I had not explored before.”

Andi wanted the design to be instantly recognisable long after the label had washed off. “It was important that the bottle would be something that the consumer wanted to keep and not throw away. My intention has always been to make a beautiful sustainable object that will be re-used – perhaps as a carafe or as a vessel for water or olive oil or even as a vase. I wanted it to be kept because it’s lovely in its own right.”

Taking it one step further, Andi hopes that consumers will be able to return the bottle and with the help of glass-blower Ruth Allen, the bottle has already been converted into a cocktail carafe. Bottles can also be placed in usual glass recycling systems for return to O-I.

“I’ve had so much positive feedback because of the bottle. It’s made using recycled glass and it has a sense of place with reference to kīna.”

The label paper with gold foil that Andi uses on the bottles is sustainable and the label is designed by award-winning, independent Auckland-based agency, One Design. Thermal printing is used on the labels on the bottles, so there’s no ink involved. The bottle closures are made from glass and wood.

Giving up the day job

Andi has always been a creative type but in 2017 the time had come to fully commit to her new life as a distiller.

“My day job was being a Creative Director with my own consultancy. The thing I like about gin and cocktails is that it’s endless creativity. I left my Creative Director role behind to pursue my love of gin and all that is associated with setting up a distillery off grid, where there are so many moving parts. Challenges like customs, compliance and electrical systems and processes to manage have made it a really interesting journey from a learning point of view. I enjoy experimenting with flavours and ingredients to create something new.”

My final challenge in setting up my distillery was sourcing juniper, which is not commonly grown in New Zealand. “It was serendipity in the end. During one of the cabana cocktail sessions on Medlands Beach I gave a neighbour’s friends some drinks and I mentioned that I was really struggling to find juniper. She turned around and said she imported juniper into New Zealand. That was the last piece of the puzzle in terms of being able to distil my gin on Great Barrier Island. Then came the process of bringing it to market in the right bottle.”

Longer term?

Andi would like to grow at a sustainable rate and eventually offer employment on the Island. “There are not a lot of employment opportunities here at the moment but people have chosen to live here for a reason. 68 percent of the whole Island is DOC protected, and people on the Island respect that. Some people have grown up here, there are very old historical families here, and others have chosen to come here because of the remoteness and they are very conscious of living here sustainably. I want to keep evolving the brand in a natural, organic way. I’m taking my time and doing it the right way.”