For Sydney we wanted to do something different, making our drinks and creativity the star of the show. So we called the whole space the Four Pillars Laboratory and it’s really a celebration of all the delicious drinks you can make with our delicious gins. Inside the Laboratory we have three distinct spaces…there’s the Gin Lab where we play with our experimental still, Eileen, named after my mum, host tastings and masterclasses and serve up simple gin drinks… there’s the Gin Shop where you can stock up on all our limited edition gins and our Made From Gin creations (like our Rare Dry Gin chocolate and our new Rare Dry Gin salt, both made using spent gin botanicals) … and then there’s the star of the show, Eileen’s Bar, where we’ll put all our gins to work in what we hope will be Sydney’s most creative and delicious gin drinks.
2. The design of your new venue is AMAZING!!! Who designed the space? And what was your inspiration behind the design and finishes?
Down at our Healesville distillery the beautiful copper stills are the centre of attention, but up here at the Laboratory it’s all about that juniper blue bar. The bar is designed to be the perfect place to get up close and personal with the drinks making, watching James Irvine (our Creative Director of Gin Drinks) and his team go to work making some of the most delicious and visually stunning gin drinks.
The whole space was designed by the uber-talented Yasmine Ghoniem and her team at YSG, and the project was managed on our side by Leah Mackenzie, who has overseen both our Healesville and Sydney homes and has great taste and a fantastic eye for detail.
Promena were the builders, and between them and Yasmine they brought together an amazing group of craftspeople who have made every bit of the space stunning from the joinery to the lighting. And those displays from Floreat … just the perfect finishing touch!
3. Now, on to the gin of course!! I love your range of different gins, they are so innovative. What inspires the different flavours you produce?
For us, our gin is all about modern Australia. This is, without question, the most delicious place on earth. From native botanicals and fresh produce to our amazingly diverse and delicious range of food cultures. So we just aim to get all that flavour into each gin we make.
And like any act of creativity or design, the end result is all about balance. So what Cameron tries to do with every gin is strike the perfect balance between purity of spirit and concentration of flavour. Luckily that’s what our copper stills made by CARL of Germany are all about. As always it’s about the craft and attention to detail.
4. We know that botanicals are so important in the creation of gin. Where do you source these?
For us, modern Australian food draws on the ingredients and flavours from around the world, so we do the same with the botanicals for our gin. For example, the best Juniper in the world (remember, Juniper is the essential ingredient for all gin) comes from Macedonia so that’s where we source ours.
But then we have access to unbelievably delicious native botanicals like Lemon Myrtle, plus we get to draw on Australia’s amazing fresh citrus to give our gins their signature aromatic notes.
And then there’s our access to wonderful cool climate Victorian Shiraz grapes for our life-changing Bloody Shiraz Gin. And now all of that is just fuel for the best gin drinks on the planet, right here n Sydney’s Surry Hills. See you at the Lab soon.
The Four Pillars Laboratory is 410 Crown Street, Surry Hills.
Gin Shop: Mon to Sun, 10am - 6pm
Gin Lab: Mon to Sun, 10am - 6pm
Eileen's Bar: Wed to Sat, 5pm - 12am
Find out more at https://www.fourpillarsgin.com/drinks-lab/visit
Images: Anson Smart
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