Rob Turner, a co-owner and manager of Animus Distillery in Kyneton, was stoked to have more than 40 of Australia’s leading distillers visit his business during their tour of the Macedon Ranges last week.
Organised as part of the Australian Distillers Association’s (ADA) annual conference, the day was one of many activities undertaken by the group from April 3-5.
As the last stop, the visit to Animus was the juniper berry on top of their journey, and Mr Turner said one of the great aspects of being a part of the ADA was the access to such a supportive community.
“When we were approached about whether we could or would participate as a stop in the tour, we immediately said yes, because that’s the community that we’re in,” Mr Turner said.
Visitors on the day ranged from legends of the distilling world, to people just starting out, learning from the big guns.
“A whole range of people came through, it’s such a humbling experience, just because of that diversity,” Mr Turner said.
“We are deeply honoured and thrilled to be part of it and I won’t say it wasn’t daunting in the lead-up to it.”
Mr Turner said being a distiller running a small business in regional Victoria is “fantastic”
“Here in Kyneton, it’s such a lovely group of people, they’ve supported us since the day we’ve opened our doors and they are some of our greatest advocates,” Mr Turner said.
“Beyond that, having the support of the Victorian government to help sponsor the ADA to get the delegates out into our regions, that’s exciting.
“We were able to showcase many of the providers that we work with locally, it wasn’t just about Animus Distillery, it was about our community here in the Macedon Ranges.”
