Iniquity Whisky, Red Hen Gin line up first exports to China

Premium SA spirits makers are preparing first exports to China in their quest for investors, contracts and volume sales.

Iniquity Whisky maker Ian Schmidt with trade expert Michele Zhuang and gin maker Anthony Vallelonga. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Two SA premium spirits producers will ship hundreds of bottles of their rich tipple to China within weeks as they test the market for investment and sales opportunities.

Tin Shed Distilling Company, which makes the award-winning Iniquity Gold whisky and gin-maker Red Hen, have secured first orders through trade expert Michele Zhuang, who is working with local and federal government support to facilitate the deals.

Ms Zhuang said it was early days, but spirits producers have a “rich market” to tap into in China, despite the tariff challenges faced by wine exporters.

“This is about diversifying the customer base and bringing more of the premium Australian tastes and creations to customers thirsty for choice in China and other Asian markets.”

Tin Shed co-founder Ian Schmidt is looking at Iniquity’s play in China as a “long game”, with patience a virtue refined over 17 years in the whisky business.

“Everything to do with whisky takes a lot of time and money,” Mr Schmidt said.

“We don't have a lot of money, so we’ve been boot-strapping.

“Exporting to China is about building relationships, which takes time.

“What we are doing now is actually what we are looking at making work in ten years’ time.”

He said the entry into China would be a search “for everything”.

“If someone comes along with a chest full of money and wants to invest, we’ll look at it.

“If someone wants do a private label, we’ll look at it (and we have done it in the past with one Chinese customer).”

Tin Shed will export a mix of its four premium Iniquity whisky series – its global award-winning Gold, Silver, Anomaly and Solera.

“We’ll send all, but the Gold is what we are looking to get into China, our top-of-range offering that matches up to the best in the world.

“Because of our climate, we can mature whisky much faster than Scotland.

“The equivalent of our Gold label is probably an 18-20 year-old Scottish whisky, but ours is only four years old.

“We get whisky to market faster, but the downside is we get a higher angel’s share (alcohol lost to evaporation during the barrel stage), which is at about 12 per cent per annum in Adelaide compared to 2 per cent in Scotland.

Tin Shed makes about 30,000 litres of whisky annually at its Welland site, but wants to triple that when it moves to a new Hills site at the end of the year.

Priced within the $95-$280 per bottle range, Iniquity whisky buyers in Australia are mostly 29-30-year-olds, 35 per cent of whom are female.

Iniquity is also exported to the US and UK.

For Adelaide CBD gin distiller Red Hen, it’s about opportunities as they come in a pandemic-challenged business environment.

Based in Adelaide’s West End, Red Hen Gin’s dry-style offering was named Australia’s ‘champion’ small batch gin in a blind tasting at the 2017 Australian Distilled Spirits Awards.

Co-founder Anthony Vallelonga said China is an exciting start to Red Hen’s export journey.

“When we send our shipment to China, they will be our first exports outside Australia and we are looking to reach more markets we know exist for craft gin.

“It is early stages of the relationship yet, but we are expecting to ship about 400-500 bottles (700ml) of our gins.”

Red Hen has two premium gins – Classic Dry Gin (about $80 for a 700ml bottle) and its Ultra Violet Dry Gin (about $70 for 500ml).

“Our journey into China is about trying to get brand recognition,” he said.

“We want grow there as much as we can by partnering with distributors who can take it to the bars, restaurants and retail shops, so we are targeting more volume sales.”

Red Hen makes about 10,000-15,000 bottles of gin per year and is also talking to Ms Zhuang about opportunities in Japan and South America.

Ms Zhuang, who also secured SA cereals business Healthy Garden first exports into China and Japan, specialises in export distribution and client relations in international markets.

“There is an opportunity in every crisis,” said the founder of Australia China Culture Media Group.

The first export orders for Iniquity and Red Hen come after nearly 18 months of discussions.

The Department of Trade and Investment’s SA spirits and beverage showcase in Guangzhou China on July 30 played a key role in getting customers over the line, Ms Zhuang said.

“Educating the North East Asian market on spirits is hard work, especially as we move away from the once lucrative wine industry,” she said.

“It’s early days in an industry dominated by big players.

“But it could be a huge turning point for the Australian craft distilling industry.”

Originally published as Iniquity Whisky, Red Hen Gin line up first exports to China