The South Australian gin industry continues to explode onto the world stage with Head Distiller of Never Never Distilling Co. Tim Boast being named Distiller of the Year at the International Spirits Business Awards held in London this week.
Boast (pictured far right) was selected from an international field of top distillers across all spirit categories. The award reflects the international success story that has become the Never Never Distilling Co’s throughout 2019.
“It’s an incredible honour to receive such a deeply personal validation that I might be doing a few things right,” says Boast, “It’s very humbling, but I would never have been able to do it without the support of my wife and business partners.”
“It’s not every day you turn around to your wife and suggest building a gin brand with our entire lifesavings,” Boast says, “from the outset I haven’t really had any other choice other than to succeed.”
The result was no doubt influenced by the string of international and local accolades the tiny South Australian brand has been able to achieve over the past 12 months, taking on the giants of the industry and winning the prize for the World’s Best Classic Gin at the World Gin Awards held in London earlier this year.
Adding to this result were Double Gold medals at the prestigious San Francisco and Singapore World Spirit Competitions, Champion Gin and Champion Spirit at the Royal Australian Spirit Awards and Best Classic Gin and Gin of Show at the Australian Gin Awards held in November.
All this from a brand that started making gin in 2017 in the back of a shed in Royal Park.
It’s been a meteoric rise considering Boast has only been a full-time distiller for two years having spent the previous 10 years in the world of finance. While living in London he was inspired by his formidable and encouraging grandmother, Nancy and influenced by family lore of his British forebearers’ founding of Gilbys Gin in the 19th century.
After returning to Adelaide “I spent more time tinkering and dreaming about making gin than anything else,” says Boast. His backyard brewery contained a variety of distilling equipment that he used to hone his skills and create a library of flavour before deciding to take the next step professionally.
It is Tim’s fearless approach to pursuing his passions that has assisted in driving the success of the brand, alongside good friends George Georgiadis and Sean Baxter.
Brand Director of Never Never, Baxter, adds “We set out with a focus on creating a special gin brand and have always sought out opportunities to be judged against the best in the business.” The Never Never Distilling Co. scored gold medals in every competition they entered in 2019, both in Australia and abroad, with many of those golds securing trophies or best in show.
It’s a statistic that not only represents the dedication and talent of the production team at Never Never, but also the newfound status of the Australian distilling industry producing some of the best spirits in the world.
“The Australian small spirits industry is kicking goals all over the globe,” said Baxter, “we, and others like us, have worked hard to build a product that is truly seen as world class.”
“Australians still consume less than 10% locally-made Australian spirits when they head to their local bottle-shop,” Baxter continues, “we want to dramatically shift that dial by creating some of the best gins in the world, right here on our doorstep.”
“Tim’s win is a sign of the respect that is being shown to Australian distillers worldwide,” Baxter continues, “he’s worked his ass off and sacrificed a lot so for him to be celebrated as the best this year is a credit to his dedication.”
The Never Never team are currently building a new state of the art distillery in McLaren Vale situated at Chalk Hill, slated to open in early 2020. It will contain a production floor and cocktail bar and share the site with a cellar door experience from Chalk Hill Wines.