Aussie transforms shed into wild gin empire
From humble beginings in an old, tiny tin shed to catapulting into a hugely successful distillery with plans to open a $30 million venue.
When James Young started his tiny gin distlilery from an old tin shed in Perth’s Swan Valley, he had no idea that just eight years later he’d be unveiling plans for a $30 million “Cathedral of Gin” empire.
Old Young’s has come a long way since James started it back in 2016 in a six metre by six metre garden shed – growing the gin brand into a hugely successful distillery.
He worked tirelessly to create top-notch gins and vodkas by hand and soon enough took home two prestigious awards at The Icons of Gin competition last year, winning the Craft Producer of the Year and Brand Innovator of the Year categories.
It marked the first time an Aussie distillery won best craft producer and only the second time one had nabbed the award for brand innovator at the competition.
Since then, Old Young has gone from strength to strength with James revealing this week his “bold” and “risky” plans for the Cathedral of Gin venue – a $30 million venture.
The new Old Young base in Henley Brook will be situated on a 45,000 sqm block by the Swan River and feature a state-of-the-art distillery, immersive gin experiences, multiple levels for food offerings, dining and tasting spaces and a secret bar.
“If you were to ask me eight years ago I’d have plans to build a $30 million ‘Cathedral of gin’ I’d tell you to pull your f***ing head in and I’m just happy I have a nice little, successful distillery in Swan Valley,” James told news.com.au.
However, when the opportunity to purchase the block presented itself, that’s when James’ mind started ticking and he really began to reconsider the future of his distillery.
“It was up for sale years ago but I had zero chance of buying it then. I barely scraped $30,000 to start Old Young,” he said. “I kept in touch with owners and told them if they ever consider selling it to please let me know.
“I then got a call out of the blue a couple of years ago asking if I was still interested.”
By then James was in a much better position financially to secure the block and began nutting out plans for what he hopes will rival South Australia’s multi-use d’Arenberg Cube.
d’Arenberg Cube has helped boost tourism in the food and wine region of McLaren Vale and James is banking on the same success for Western Australia off the back of Cathedral of Gin.
“It’s scary putting something like this out in the world — it’s an ambitious design. Love it to hate it, (just like d’Arbenberg Cube) there’s no denying it’s been effective in bringing people to Maclaren Vale,” he said.
Designed by architects Cumulus Studio, the wild structure is an artistic tribute to Old Young’s original tin shed.
It dramatically unfurls like a lemon peel twisting toward the sky.
James said he had essentially “speed-dated” a dozen architectural firms before ultimately partnering with Aussie firm Cumulus Studio.
“We don’t believe in doing things half-arsed, and building history means being ambitious and dare we say, audacious,” James said.
“So we went out to some of the world’s best architects, from Hamburg to Hobart and the design from Cumulus just took our breath away.
“Our little tin shed has been turned on its head – literally. Like a phoenix rising from the earth, this other worldly structure is a twisting tribute to our origins and the creativity we constantly strive for.”
He said Cumulus didn’t just present a beautiful building but one that works with the venue designed to cater for 500 visitors each day and boasting 10 luxury accommodation suites.
While they drew inspiration from all over the world, James said he understands that many people will compare Cathedral of Gin with Chester Osborn’s iconic d’Arenberg Cube.
“This structure was at first deemed ‘outlandish’ and ‘ridiculous’ but has since achieved worldwide acclaim,” James said.
“We hope to mirror its success, which saw the number of day trippers to McLaren Vale rise from 130,000 in 2015 to 351,000 in a year.”
James said he’s confident his new home will see similar numbers and proudly put the Swan Valley on every gin-lover’s itinerary.
“And with our Birchal Equity Crowdfund just launched – you can even become a part owner of this architectural wonder. That’s some bragging rights.”
James said when he started Old Young there were just 30 distilleries- and now there’s more than 150.
“If you want to stand out and create something unique you need to be bold and this is part of it,” he told news.com.au.
“We have always been creative and pushed the envelope and this (Cathedral of Gin) the most out there expression of that.”
James hopes to open the new venue by late 2027, if all goes to plan.