1/21The Natural Distilling Co flagship product Hemp Gin. Picture: Dannika Bonser
Natural Distilling Co hemp
PICTURE GALLERY: A dairy farmer’s son, gin-maker Rhys Staley and his young family are charting a new path for the family farm by diversifying into hemp. See all the photos from their first harvest in Gippsland.
2/21Rhys Staley is founder of The Natural Distilling Co and has grown his first trial crop for hemp seed on his parents’ dairy farm near Wilsons Promontory. Picture: Dannika Bonser
3/21Rhys checks the hemp seeds before harvest. Picture: Dannika Bonser
4/21Rhys’s wife, Laura, and daughter, Charlie, in the hemp. Picture: Dannika Bonser
5/21Charlie Staley, 18 months, checks out the hemp, which is CRS variety. Picture: Dannika Bonser
6/21Laura and Rhys Staley in the hemp paddock. Picture: Dannika Bonser
7/21Charlie does her own crop check. Picture: Dannika Bonser
8/21The trial crop will supply seed to flavour The Natural Distilling Co gin and vodka. Picture: Dannika Bonser
9/21Charlie assesses soil moisture. Picture: Dannika Bonser
10/21The young family hopes hemp can diversify the family dairy farm. Picture: Dannika Bonser
11/21Rhys’s dream for the boutique spirits brand and hemp-growing operation is to expand into a Gippsland-based country distillery: a flagship for the brand and community where family and friends can work together. Picture: Dannika Bonser
12/21The son of a dairy farmer, Rhys first started experimenting with making whisky in 2015, which evolved into distilling gin and vodka. Picture: Dannika Bonser
13/21A career in the medicinal canabis industry led Rhys to consider how hemp could be used as an ingredient in his spirits. Picture: Dannika Bonser
14/21After being granted a licence to grow hemp, he planted his first crop last year and completed harvest in March. Picture: Dannika Bonser
15/21His next batch will be the first round of spirits created with his own farm-grown hemp seed. Picture: Dannika Bonser
16/21Rhys pours hemp seed into the loader bucket. Picture: Dannika Bonser
17/21A proud grower with his first crop. Picture: Dannika Bonser
18/21Laura, Charlie and Rhys Staley. Picture: Dannika Bonser
19/21The Natural Distilling Co flagship products Hemp Gin and Hemp Vodka. Picture: Dannika Bonser
20/21Harvest of the small trial plot was completed by hand. Picture: Dannika Bonser
21/21Laura and Rhys Staley with The Natural Distilling Co Hemp Gin. Picture: Dannika Bonser
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