Gippsland distiller on a winner with hemp gin
The world’s latest super-crop thrives in Gippsland and has helped a dairy farming family diversify into spirits, writes Erin Delahunty.
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GROWING up on a dairy farm near Wilsons Promontory in Gippsland, Rhys Staley, now 32, knew he didn’t want to milk cows every day of his life.
While he loved the 320-hectare property where his parents still run 400 cows, Rhys was keen to follow a passion for science and get away from farming.
What he didn’t know was that a degree in biological science, work in the medicinal cannabis field and an entrepreneurial streak would lead him right back through the farm gate – to grow hemp to make spirits for his own distillery brand.
Rhys – who has a “day job” in Melbourne as general manager of a medical cannabis company – is the founder of The Natural Distilling Co, which makes gin and vodka from hemp.
Given how new hemp-growing is in Victoria, the brand’s first batch, released late last year, used imported inputs, but the next release, due in mid-2020, will be made using hemp seeds grown right on the family farm Rhys was so keen to escape.
“I never wanted to stay on the farm, as I saw how hard my parents worked and how tough it was. I thought I’d get into medical research and change the world, which is what you think that field is about when you’re young and idealistic,” Rhys says.
After getting a bachelor’s degree from Deakin University and working in medical research for a short time, Rhys, who admits to getting bored easily, moved into medical sales and then ended up in the medical cannabis industry.
Over the years, each time he went home to Gippsland, Rhys, who is married with one child and has another due soon, would discuss with his parents how they could diversify, given the challenges facing dairying and their impending retirement.
In 2015, Rhys started “mucking about” with spirit-making on those trips home, after purchasing a 30-litre still to make American-style whisky. It was meant to be just a hobby.
Using Google for research, “endless trial and error” and the help of family and friends over several months, Rhys’s pursuit became more than a pastime and he made his first batch of whisky in his grandfather’s 55-year-old milk vat.
While what he made was “absolute rubbish”, the process of “making the idea work, somehow” brought the family and friends together in a way Rhys had never experienced. And so, the idea for The Natural Distilling Co was born.
“Whisky is complicated and has to be aged in a barrel for two years, but once you know how, white spirits can be made simply and you can sell it almost overnight. Gin is both popular – the market for it is growing 9 per cent per annum, which is insane – and a really interesting spirit, so it immediately appealed.”
Then in 2017, it became legal to grow low-THC cannabis, also known as industrial hemp, for food, fibre and cosmetics.
“Dad had been looking for a crop that might be more profitable, as a way to diversify the business, and with all my knowledge gained through my professional life, I was interested too.
“It was the final piece of the puzzle in the dream, using one of the most interesting and beneficial crops in the world in our products. Growing it ourselves would give us a vertically integrated supply chain.”
The family decided to take the plunge and applied for a licence to grow 40 hectares of hemp, which has very low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is the psychoactive chemical compound found at high levels in marijuana. They planted four hectares in late 2019.
“Because it’s relatively new, there’s still some controversy about the growing of hemp, and we’ve had to ensure the crop isn’t visible from the road and take other precautions, but ultimately, it’s just another crop,” Rhys says.
In fact, hemp is very similar to a weed, he says. “It doesn’t need any pesticides, herbicides or insecticides and uses less water to grow than wheat or cotton.”
Plus, he adds, it’s perfect for making gin and vodka. “Hemp as an ingredient is often touted as a superfood and super-plant, with countless environmental and nutritional benefits. While you won’t get high from hemp, in drinks, it yields an ultra-rich, citrus profile,” Rhys says.
The Natural Distilling Co’s gin is made using limonene, one of the main organic compounds found in the cannabis plant, which is also found in orange peel, and the vodka focuses on myrcene, which adds lavender and lemongrass flavours. The 700ml bottles are sold online and at markets.
Refined with the “purest Gippsland water”, the products are gluten-free, sugar-free, lactose-free and don’t have any chemical additives. Soon, a rum will be added to the range.
“We’re always thinking about what’s next when it comes to ingredients, whether that be wild strawberries or manuka honey. Later on, we hope to get back to that initial whisky dream, too.”
FARM FILE: The Natural Distilling Co
Rhys Staley runs The Natural Distilling Co in Gippsland, making hemp-flavoured gin and vodka. Available in 700ml bottles, the gin sells for $90 and the vodka for $75. The first batches were made using imported hemp seed, however last year Rhys planted a four-hectare trial plot of hemp on his family’s farm and plans to use the harvested seed in the next batch of spirits.
Where: Gippsland, near Wilsons Promontory
More info: naturaldistillingco.com.au
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