FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 38 OF 80
FOUR PILLARS, Brookvale, NSW, Australia
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
Yarra Yarra is generally associated with the idea of "ever flowing" or "it flows" and, although the focus of this post is of course going to be Four Pillars Distillery, Yarra Yarra is also a pretty good metaphor for this virtual tour and my nattering, which seems to be going on and on forever!
Four Pillars Distillery was founded in 2013 and the name represents four important elements of their business — their copper stills, pure Yarra Valley water, the best native, exotic and traditional botanicals and dedication to the distilling process. Of course, you need a really good distiller as well and, at the time I first wrote this, Cam MacKenzie was very much the man in charge of that side of things, with partners Stu Gregor and Matt Jones dealing with sales, marketing and strategy.
Cam and Stu go back more than 20 years and met when they were both working in the wine industry. Cam was working at Beringer Blass on an Olympic scholarship, having competed for Australia in the 4 x 400m relay at Atlanta in 1996 and training for the Sydney Olympics. Wine won, however, and scuppered his Olympic career, but he has not exactly looked back!
Four Pillars came about when Cam and Stu got chatting one day about owning their own business and doing something outside the wine industry. They considered tonic, but Cam was more interested in getting back to being hands-on, rather than just managing a product that was contract made, and so they decided to look into distilling.
This took some planning and was a huge investment for them both. Stu had a successful PR business at the time and they brought Matt on board to help with some strategy, although somehow he managed to pitch himself into the business as well and the three worked together to turn the idea into one of Australia's best-known gin brands.
They didn't set out to make a London Dry, but rather to make something unique and modern, which represented its Australian roots and was true to gin's origins, with juniper leading the way. Their Rare Dry Gin was never marketed as a London Dry, and the recipe has always been heavily juniper-led, balanced with native botanicals and fresh Australian citrus.
It was a slow process getting set up and Cam's focus was, and still is in the Four Pillars story, as much about the safety and mechanics around distillation as recipes and ingredients. There is so much more to distilling than just a recipe and, when you start to have discussions with distillers and see the equipment they use, you start to appreciate just how complex a process it is — and all the factors they need to take into account before you even switch on the still!
Their first still was Wilma, a custom-built German copper still named after Cam's late mother. She has since been joined by Jude, Eileen, Beth, Coral and Linda, with the stills named after the mums of the founders or long-standing Four Pillars people. I rather like that — when you've invested in a serious amount of copper, you may as well give them proper names!
Four Pillars grew rapidly and in 2019 Lion acquired a 50% stake in the business. That gave the company the backing to expand production and distribution whilst the founders continued to run the business. In 2023 Lion bought the remaining 50% of Four Pillars, reportedly in a deal worth around A$33.5 million, taking full ownership of the business.
The founders remained involved in the wider business through the newly created Four Corners Global Spirits division, so it wasn't quite the end of the road for the three bald men with one bold dream.
There have been some changes since I originally wrote this too. Cam MacKenzie left Four Pillars in 2024, so although he remains an absolutely central part of the Four Pillars story, he is no longer the person standing over the stills. The distillery has continued to grow under new leadership, whilst the original philosophy remains very much intact.
The founders remained involved in the wider business through the newly created Four Corners Global Spirits division, so it wasn't quite the end of the road for the three bald men with one bold dream.
There have been some changes since I originally wrote this too. Cam MacKenzie left Four Pillars in 2024, so although he remains an absolutely central part of the Four Pillars story, he is no longer the person standing over the stills. The distillery has continued to grow under new leadership, whilst the original philosophy remains very much intact.
When it comes to recipes and botanicals, they have always focussed on ensuring that they are able to distil year round using the same botanicals for each recipe, whether fresh or dried. They've experimented with many recipes and collaborated with other distilleries as well, and they've certainly never been afraid of doing things a little differently.
Their Olive Leaf Gin was one of the latest expressions to arrive in the UK when I originally wrote this, and it's still one of my favourites. It was inspired by a visit to Cobram Estate during olive harvest, where they realised that olive oil could actually make a rather fabulous gin botanical. The gin uses olive leaf and olive oil alongside fresh lemons, rosemary and other botanicals to create something savoury, textural and very different from your usual citrus-led gin.
And then there's Bloody Shiraz, another favourite and one which came about almost by accident. It's loosely their version of a sloe gin — gin, grapes and more gin, but no added sugar! Whole Yarra Valley Shiraz grapes are steeped in high-proof gin for eight weeks before being pressed and blended with more Rare Dry Gin. The result is that spectacular deep purple colour and a lovely sweetness that comes entirely from the grapes.
They've also been rather clever about what happens to everything left over from making the gin. Their spent botanicals have been put to good use as animal feed, including for their famous gin pigs, and they've found other uses for the fruit and botanicals rather than simply sending everything off as waste. Their whole approach to sustainability has become a much bigger part of the business too — they became Australia's first certified carbon-neutral gin distillery in 2022 and have continued to work on renewable energy, waste reduction and reuse.
And the distillery itself has grown considerably. What started life in 2015 in a former timber yard in Healesville is now a proper gin destination, with Jude's Gin Garden, tastings, masterclasses, food, cocktails and, rather brilliantly, a gin refill service. You can bring back any empty 700ml Four Pillars bottle, they'll rinse it, refill it with an available gin, put a fresh label on it and knock $10 off the price. So don't throw that bottle away!
The distillery is still in Healesville, right in the heart of the Yarra Valley, and I think it's rather fitting that a couple of wine industry mates ended up here making gin.
This is one of Australia's great wine regions, but Four Pillars has helped give the valley another very good reason to visit.
"Ever flowing, ever nattering — and a gin that helped put the Yarra Valley on the world gin map."
I've served up here a Dry Martini with a drop of olive oil, but I've also consumed a few G&Ts with Fever-Tree Light and Mediterranean Tonics, which were all delicious!
And yes, the olive oil really does work.
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."