Two years ago Tony Jones hadn't even tasted gin before. Last week, the gin he created with his family in his shed took out the best in class trophy at the coveted Australian Gin Awards.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
It was the first time the NSW Central West distillery, Jones and Smith, had entered their Epoch Sloe Gin in the competition.
Owned and run by Mr Jones with his wife Dorothy, their daughter Kylie Smith and son-in-law Nic Smith, at Spring Hill, the distillery only began bottling gin in late 2019.
The venture was part of Mr Jones' lifelong dream to create his own whiskey.
Their latest creation, the Epoch Sloe Gin, steamrolled big gin manufacturers from all over the country to take out overall winner in the award's flavoured gin category.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The award's judges described the gin's taste as: "rich ripe fruit with a pleasant sweetness, pronounced acidity and freshness of finish".
It wasn't the only award Jones and Smith picked up either, with their Signature Dry Gin, Navy Gin and Cherry Gin all winning silver, respectively.
"We're a very boutique-style distillery so everything is very hands-on from beginning to end, including bottling and labelling. It's not done by machine, we [do it ourselves]," Kylie Smith said.
"We're a small operation, but maybe that's the key, maybe being so small results in extra TLC."
