FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 39 OF 80
NEVER NEVER, McLaren Vale, SA, Australia
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
McLaren Vale is, of course, famous for its wine, but it's also become something of a gin destination, with several distilleries making the most of the region's produce and spectacular setting.
Never Never have certainly gone the extra mile to make sure that a visit to their distillery is something you'll want to repeat. They offer tastings, tours, gin experiences, an on-site bar, outside seating and, should you wish to make a full day of it, food is available too. Pizza, gin and a vista — my kinda heaven!
There has been a trend for wine estates to start producing spirits as well, and McLaren Vale has followed suit, with several gin brands connected to the region's wine industry.
And Never Never have certainly embraced that connection. Their Ginache is made using premium McLaren Vale Grenache grapes, which are crushed and added to their Triple Juniper Gin, left on the skins for up to a month before being pressed, filtered and bottled. So although the grapes aren't the base spirit, they're doing rather a lot of the flavour work. It's a pretty fabulous nod to the wine country in which Never Never is based, and the result is rich, fruity and almost dessert-like. I love the idea of a gin that sits somewhere between the gin cabinet and the wine cellar!
Although they didn't start out on Chalk Hill, Never Never always knew this was where they wanted to end up. Their bottle and label design reflects the landscape of McLaren Vale and, rather wonderfully, when you arrive at the distillery the actual view is remarkably similar to the image on the bottle. That's one of those happy accidents that you couldn't plan if you tried.
They were also very much inspired by the Never Never itself, which is the term used to describe the vast Australian expanse beyond the horizon. To step into the Never Never is to be adventurous and make a journey into the unknown, which seems particularly appropriate for three mates who left established careers to start a gin company in a 16-square-metre shed with no running water!
Never Never was founded by George Georgiadis, Sean Baxter and Tim Boast, and they started out in that tiny shed in Adelaide in 2016. They had a pretty clear idea of what they wanted to achieve — a classic gin with juniper at the heart of it, rather than another gin where the juniper gets lost amongst a long list of fashionable botanicals.
They wanted to start a juniper revolution all over again and bring juniper back to the limelight and they certainly have done just that.
Their first gin was Triple Juniper, and it's so-called because they process the juniper in three different ways — steeping, pot distillation and vapour distillation. Each method extracts something different from the juniper, giving the gin layers of bright, earthy and piney character. Juniper really is at the heart of everything they make, and alongside the classic botanicals and bags of citrus, they use Australian pepperberry to add another layer of spice.
It took them 33 different recipes before they settled on the final Triple Juniper recipe, so this wasn't exactly a case of knocking up a few botanicals and hoping for the best! Their little 300-litre still, Wendy, was originally installed in that tiny shed, and from there the business grew rapidly. Triple Juniper went on to win World's Best Classic Gin at the World Gin Awards in 2019, followed by a string of other awards.
They eventually outgrew the shed — not exactly a surprise — and in 2020 moved into their purpose-built distillery on top of Chalk Hill in McLaren Vale. This is where the brand really came into its own, with a proper distillery door, spectacular views and somewhere for all those thirsty fans to finally come and drink the stuff at source.
In 2024, Never Never was acquired by Asahi Beverages, the Japanese-owned drinks giant behind brands including Asahi, Peroni and Schweppes. The amount wasn't disclosed, but this wasn't a case of the founders disappearing into a corporate office and handing over the keys. George, Sean and Tim remained with the business and said at the time that the acquisition would give them the resources and distribution network to build the brand into the global business they'd always wanted it to become.
From a 16-square-metre shed with no running water to an award-winning distillery on Chalk Hill, international distribution and now the backing of one of Australia's biggest drinks companies — that's quite a journey into the Never Never!
"Juniper, Shiraz country and a journey into the unknown — welcome to the Never Never."
The serve: just a good old-fashioned G&T, because sometimes the best way to appreciate a gin that has worked this hard to make juniper the star is simply to let it be the star.
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."