Bellarine Distillery / The Whiskery
Russ Watson and his wife opened their cellar door, The Whiskery, in 2018. With a recipe for success, their small project has since become a spectacular spot for people to relax, sit and have a drink.
Although retired, Russ had a bit of a bee in his bonnet about possibly making whiskey. Then one day, his wife suggested that they start their own distillery.
Russ’s niece visited when it was just a small project and innocently said, 'How’s the whiskery going?' thinking that’s what a place that made whisky was called. ‘I’ve got a big moustache, so named the cellar door “The Whiskery”,’ says Russ Watson.
‘We opened on Anzac Day 2018 and had 300 people visit us in 3 hours. It was such a new thing on the peninsula. Everybody wanted to call in, and it’s been like that ever since we opened.‘
The gin has become a massive part of the business. Russ’s wife came up with the original recipe for the first gin ‘Teddy and the Fox’ and the range has since grown to 5.
When you look at each bottle, you’ll see that each one is named after the family dogs. Teddy became the first batch and they have just kept on going.
The first releases of their 2 whiskies sold out in minutes. They were really well accepted by the public and critics, including Aussie spirits pioneer Bill Lark.
'The support that The Whiskery has had from the local community is incredible. People just love coming down for a chat and the sit around the fire, to enjoy live music. It’s a great place to be,' says Russ.
The Whiskery offers gin tastings that take people through the full range. Here you will be taught the technique of tasting neat spirit – it really gives you a great appreciation of the complexities of the individual product.
There are rare times that a person will come in and say they don’t like gin. Russ usually bets them a cocktail that they’ll end up enjoying the gin produced here and he’s never lost a cocktail yet! They’ll often walk out with a bottle.
Buying locally means you develop a relationship with the whole experience. We see visitors as special guests who come in and share an experience with us in our home.
'The whole business is about ensuring people leave having had a fantastic experience and enjoy the Bellarine Peninsula while they’re here.'
'We’ve just released our "Christmas Pud" single malt whisky, and looking ahead there are quite a few more litres of whisky maturing, meaning there’s going to be some beautiful bottles on the way.'
'We always try to support other local businesses where we can. We offer some Italian-style pizzas, platters with some fish pate and gravlax from down the road, some local cheeses and local olives. If people don’t want a gin or whisky, we offer a couple of local wines and local beers as well.'
So buying local also means supporting a whole community of local small businesses.