Stone Pine Distillery in Bathurst

Mr L'Orange and I take Dog A L'Orange to obedience classes every Saturday morning in Bathurst with a distant hope that one day he might be well behaved.

Every cellar door needs a dragon sculpture

Given that Bathurst is 45 minutes from Orange and we do have to get up pretty early to make it to the class on time we have decided to start treating ourselves and the dog once the Obedience Training is finished.

This week we decided to head to Stone Pine Distillery to try some of their spirits and meet owner Ian, who also happens to have a lovely Scottish accent.

The cellar door has that country rustic charm that encourages you to try hard spirits at 11am and part with lots of money.  The copper still is right in the cellar door next to you whilst tasting, which really helps when Ian is explaining his distillation techniques.

Our first taste was the wild lime vodka made with finger limes which add plenty of flavour & zing. During production, all the botanicals added only release their flavours as the copper still is heated.

The dream gin maker

We tried the new Lucia Limoncello that has been made in partnership with 42 Bannermans Trattoria and Bar - it is tangy and refreshing without being overtly sweet and would be the perfect ending to any big Italian feast.

We got to try some of Ian's new gin blends that he is working on, the lemon myrtle and junipers are a match made in heaven and make the Stone Pine's gin totally unique. It means when adding tonic you don't have to worry about lemons or lime slices as the flavour is already in the gin - simply delicious.

A the tasting room table

Stone Pine also produce a range of lip smacking liqueurs including a choca-mocha, apple schnapps and summer berry liqueur. Alas we were already feeling pretty tipsy from the gin, vodka, limoncello we had consumed and decided to come back another day for liqueurs when someone else was driving.

Rustic toilet facilities

Located just 10 minutes outside of Bathurst, Stone Pine Distillery is a great cellar door to pop into if you happen to be passing through Bathurst. If the gin appeals and you are not planning a trip to Bathurst then fear not as you can always order online.