Buffalo Vale: Our hidden gin gem

NESTLED in the inconspicuous space of an old science lab in North Ryde is a distillery brewing handmade bottles of gin with distinctly Australian flavours.

Cal Paterson and Ryan Parker with their distillery dogs Beau and Asher at Buffalo Creek Reserve, the namesake of their gin distillery. Pictures: John Appleyard

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NESTLED in the inconspicuous space of an old science lab in North Ryde is a distillery brewing handmade bottles of gin with distinctly Australian flavours.

Friends Cal Paterson and Ryan Parker were inspired to open Buffalo Vale Distillery - named after the creek in Hunters Hill they both live alongside - after a trip to Tasmania, where a rainy day turned into the opportune time to visit some of the island’s distilleries.

After 18 months of planning, they opened the doors to their distillery in March and sell their handmade gin online and at local food festivals.

“We’ve got a lot of local support,” Paterson said.

The pair have plenty of laughs along the way.

Their signature Clair De Lune gin was named after their favourite song.

After starting off with small scale equipment, their North Ryde distillery now has the capabilities to produce 250 bottles per day.

Their signature, Clair De Lune, is a full flavoured gin designed to be drunk on its own or with soda.

“It’s a completely, totally hand made product,” Paterson said.

Gin is made from fermenting a pure water wash that is distilled into a base spirit and then redistilled with botanicals.

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The pair make their own base spirit and add 14 botanicals to it with a distinct Australian flavour including lemon myrtle and wattle seed, for a robust but smooth flavour.

“The flavour profile is as much informed by the base spirit as it is by the botanicals,” Paterson said.

Paterson said their processing, which takes three months from distilling to bottling, was “heavily informed by wine making”.

“We use champagne yeast and winemaking principles and techniques,” he said.

The name Clair De Lune is a nod to the pair’s favourite Flight Facilities song and a tongue-in-cheek reference to homemade spirits.

“Loosely translated from French it means moonshine,” Paterson said.

Buffalo Vale will sell their gin at the Wahroonga Food and Wine Festival on October 29.