Idle Hour just picked up four medals at the world’s premier annual spirits judging competition

A group of Brisbane entrepreneurs have won plaudits on the international stage for their new brand of vodka just months after its release, and now it’s being stocked in more than 100 bottle shops.

BOTTOMS UP

A group of Brisbane-based entrepreneurs have won plaudits on the international stage for their new brand of vodka just months after its release.

The gang at Idle Hour Spirits picked up an impressive four gongs last month at what is considered the world’s premier annual judging event, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Their rye-infused filtered and unfiltered varieties, which snared silver and bronze medals, were among a record 3500-plus entries from around the globe. The packaging and design for each also garnered a bronze.

Making the achievement even more notable, the two founders, Ewen Pettit and Lachie Goldsworthy, along with their new co-director, Matt Kowal, only launched the brand in December.

Idle Hour directors (left to right) Matt Kowal, Lachie Goldsworthy and Ewen Pettit

Since then, it’s been picked up by about 100 leading bottle shops, as well as more than 50 watering holes dotted between Byron Bay and Noosa.

The gents, who all have a background in the drinks and marketing game, are now poised to ink a deal with a national distributor which could see them churn out about 4000 cases a year. That’s roughly 36,000 litres for those wondering.

The firewater, made from locally-sourced ingredients, is crafted at a contract distillery at Mt Glorious.

Pettit, a UK-born brand strategist who previously worked with Heineken, Pernod and hard seltzer brand White Claw, came up with the idea to re-imagine taste possibilities for the spirit after crossing paths with Goldsworthy in 2017.

Goldsworthy’s strength lies in creative design, which helped him develop the distinctive look for the cans cranked out by Balter Brewing, the award-winning Gold Coast craft beer mob.

Oddly enough, the two got to know each other through their mutual barber, who just happens to be Goldsworthy’s brother based in Coorparoo. Funny how the stars align sometimes!

Anyway, the pace of work quickened during last year’s lockdown, when the pair teamed up with Kowal, a strategic adviser who previously spent time promoting Red Bull and Monster energy drinks, as well as running PERKii Enhance Probiotics.

Idle Hour vodka bottles

The trio also managed to rustle up just over $650,000 from a variety of seed capital investors in both Brisbane and Sydney late last year. More capital raising are on the way, too.

Vodka has traditionally been made with potatoes, corn or wheat, with consumers traditionally overwhelming the muted taste of the alcohol with mixers.

But Pettit told City Beat that changing consumer tastes presented an opportunity to do something edgy with an up-market vodka, much like similar efforts focused on craft whiskies, rum and gin.

“We are reinventing vodka for the contemporary drinker,’’ he said.

“There’s a very large shift in drinker behaviour. People want to drink less but drink better quality. There’s a finer appreciation for alcohol.

“People want to taste flavour and it’s important that it not get masked by the mixer.’’

The Idle Hour approach has resulted in a drop that the creators describe as a spiced taste with a creamy texture and clean finish.

Kowal noted that the point of difference is entirely intentional.

“We wanted to create something that stood out from the crowd,’’ he said.

“Removing the ostentatiousness and unnecessary complexity out of the vodka category was of primary importance to the brand.’’