Last week, we had the distinct honour of welcoming United Airlines Executive Staff from the Chicago Head Office and Christchurch Airport Partnership Manager, Briar Nash, to the Tasting House. Their visit coincided with the inaugural United Airlines direct service between San Francisco and Christchurch, marking the first time a US airline has flown to the South Island. With this exciting development poised to 'supercharge' tourism in the region, we eagerly anticipate an influx of American gin enthusiasts eager to experience our gin offerings firsthand. We look forward to welcoming more visitors and sharing our passion for gin with them.

We enjoyed hosting United Airlines Executive Staff at the Tasting House last week.

United Airlines staff visit the Tasting House

We had the pleasure of spending a delightful morning with the team at Shamarra Alpacas recently. Bathed in sunshine, the farm was a picture of serenity, offering breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape. For anyone visiting Akaroa, a farm tour at Shamarra Alpacas (Land of the Cute) is an absolute must-do activity. From interactive alpaca experiences to stunning vistas of the harbour, it's an unforgettable experience. A big thank you to Frank, Anya, Alex, and the entire fluffy Shamarra crew for their warm hospitality. 

We spent a morning recently at Shamarra Alpacas - an absolute must-do to add to your activity list whilst visiting the Peninsula.

Shamarra Alpacas - The Land of Cute

The Akaroa French Festival made a triumphant return to Akaroa on October 6th 2023 after a four-year hiatus. As proud principal sponsors of the event, we showcased our specially crafted Spiced Walnut and Honey Gin along with Hector's Gin and Elephant Rock Vodka at the Akaroa Craft Distillery Bar within the Café Monet. Our sponsorship of the festival provided a valuable opportunity to deepen our connections with the local community, nurture new and old friendships and of course, share in our common enjoyment of all things gin. 

We were excited to be on the principal sponsors at the Akaroa French Festival held on the 6th-8th October 2023.

Principal Sponsor of the Akaroa French Festival October 2023

We are delighted to launch the Akaroa French Festival Spiced Walnut and Honey Gin to commemorate the Akaroa French Festival, being held 6-8 October 2023. As a principal sponsor of the event, the sale proceeds of this absolutely stunning gin will be donated back to the festival organisers. Walnuts from peninsula trees are blended with local honey and classic botanicals to create a sweet drop of honeyed promise with a long, warm spicy finish. Only 800 bottles were created to celebrate the return of this wonderful event to Akaroa.

Akaroa Craft Distillery creates a limited edition gin to celebrate the return of the Akaroa French Festival to Akaroa.

Akaroa French Festival Spiced Walnut & Honey Gin - Limited Edition

We were thrilled to receive an invitation from Cavell Leitch to showcase our range of gins at their office recently. Our team had the pleasure of sampling all four of our Hector's Gins, alongside the newly released Limited Edition Akaroa French Festival Spiced Walnut and Honey. It was an exciting opportunity for everyone to explore the unique flavors of each gin before indulging in the creation of their own delicious cocktails, experimenting with a diverse selection of mixers and garnishes. A heartfelt thanks to the Relationships Team at Cavell Leitch for including us in your evening.

Gin Tasting with the team at Cavell Leitch

Let the Fun Be-Gin at Cavell Leitch

We were very honoured to be the principal sponsor for the Ballantynes Fashion Week opening night held on the 27th September. Guests were able to enjoy our signature cocktail - a Hector's French 75 - prior to moving upstairs to view the runway show. Thank you Ballantynes for allowing us to be involved in such a special event. 

Ballantynes Fashion Week guests treated to a beautiful Hector's Gin French 75 before the start of the runway show.

Akaroa Craft Distillery sponsors Ballantynes Fashion Week

Community spirit is a huge part of what we do and when the Akaroa Bowls Club Clubhouse was hit with a devastating fire earlier in the year, we wanted to do our part to help with their fundraising efforts. On September 23, the Bowls Club hosted a 'Surf n Turf' Dinner at The Akaroa Cooking School to raise money for the necessary renovations for their clubhouse. Guests were treated to a Hector's Gin cocktail along with a beautifully curated meal designed and prepared by Lee-Anne Ketchen with Pa Road wine matches. 

Community sponsorship to aid the renovation of the Akaroa Bowls Club Clubhouse.

Surf n Turf - Akaroa Bowls Club Fundraiser

We are excited to release the first product in our extended spirit range - Elephant Rock Vodka. Inspired by the mighty Elephant Head that welcomes you at Akaroa Heads, Elephant Rock Vodka evokes the freshness of a day on the ocean. Bull kelp and orange peel have been delicately combined to create a clean, smooth vodka with a sophisticated minerality. A must try for all of the vodka fans.

Launch of Elephant Rock Vodka - the first of our extended spirit range.

Elephant Rock Vodka - New Release

ChristchurchNZ recently held their Christchurch, Canterbury and West Coast Destination Showcase at The Dome located at the Auckland War Museum. The event was an opportunity for inbound tour operators from across New Zealand along with TourismNZ and other key industry partners to learn about the amazing experiences that our region has to offer. We were incredibly excited to accept the invitation to attend and offer guests an opportunity to taste our gin, enjoy a mini G&T and chat about our story and vision for the future. Guests were also treated to a delicious Hector's Ocean Wash Gin cured salmon dish as part of the culinary offering. 

Akaroa Craft Distillery on show at the Christchurch, Canterbury and West Coast Destination Showcase held at The Dome.

Christchurch, Canterbury and West Coast Destination Showcase

The Akaroa Cooking School has long been one of Akaroa's 'must-do' experiences. We were lucky enough to be invited to showcase our Hector's Gin at   the only two 'Canapes and Gin Cocktails' Classes that the Cooking School hold each year. Guests were given an overview of the Akaroa Craft Distillery story and vision along with a masterclass on how to easily make two delicious drinks using Hector's Gin at home. A very fun-filled afternoon with the Cooking School guests and team. Thank you Lou, Ant and Lee-Anne for having us!

Hector's Gin on show at The Akaroa Cooking School for their Canapes & Gin Cocktails Class.

Canapes & Gin Cocktails at The Akaroa Cooking School

22 July 2023 saw Ōtautahi Christchurch's newest winter festival kick off - The Midwinter Session. Put together by Venues Ōtautahi, The Midwinter Session was a celebration of local food, beers, wines and spirits along with local food vendors, musicians, bands and street artists, all from the Canterbury region. We were super excited to be a part of an exciting new event serving up delicious drinks and cocktails from our Hector's range. Take home bottle sales were most definitely a hit with the visitors to our stand. The Midwinter Session will be back in August 2024.

We were excited to be a part of the inaugural Midwinter Session event by Venues Otautahi.

Akaroa Craft Distillery at The Midwinter Session

It is with immense pride and excitement that we can now share that Hector's Gin has received four accolades at the recent NZ Spirits Awards Competition. We are incredibly humbled by the results and would like to thank the judges, TSWL, everyone who has been a part of the journey so far and most of all, you, our loyal Hector's fans.

Hector's Gin receives four medals at the recent NZ Spirit Awards Competition.

Gold hits the harbour - four gins, four wins

Our fourth release in the Hector’s series is our Little Akaloa Pink Blossom Gin. One of our blossom varietals was sourced directly from Virginia Mayo’s private residence on Decanter Bay Road in Little Akaloa. Given Virginia’s nickname is ‘Ginny’ and her family have lived in Little Akaloa for many generations, it was a match made in heaven. The rest of the blossoms used in the distillation were Cherry Blossoms picked from Cheskins in Little River.

Our fourth release in the Hector’s series is our Little Akaloa Pink Blossom Gin.

Hector's Little Akaloa Pink Blossom Gin - New Release

Take flight with Garden City Helicopters and experience the taste and tales of the Akaroa harbour, told in gin with Akaroa Craft Distillery. Take in unique views of Canterbury and Banks Peninsula from the air, look down on gathering grounds of the many botanicals that make up the flavours of the gin on offer.

For more info: https://gchaviation.com/akaroa-craft-distillery-heli-gin-experience/

Take flight with Garden City Helicopters and experience the taste and tales of the Akaroa harbour, told in gin with Akaroa Craft Distillery.

GCH Aviation – Akaroa Craft Distillery Heli Gin Experience

Situated in Okuti Valley, Phytofarm is owned and run by Valmai Becker. Valmai is a well known Naturopath and Professional Member of the New Zealand Association of Medical Herbalists. The development of Phytofarm is now her primary passion and brings together a number of her skills - gardener, teacher, learner and care taker of 30 acres of forest and gardens. We are delighted to support Phytofarm with the inclusion of several of the wild foods and botanicals grown on site including Lemon Verbena which is the main botanical in our Hector’s Little River Lemon Verbena Gin.

Phytofarm in Little River to supply Akaroa Craft Distillery with local wild foods and botanicals.

Akaroa Craft Distillery and Phytofarm

French Peak is a locally owned vineyard, located in picturesque French Farm. Only 3.5 hectares, French Peak is the oldest vineyard in Banks Peninsula and has a unique terrior as it is based in the centre of an extinct volcano. The top of the vineyard is at an altitude of 80m high and only 700m from the sea. It has been run organically since 2016 and is currently going through BioGro certification. French Peak Pinot Noir is added to our NZ First, Hector’s French Farm Petit Pinot Gin.

French Peak Vineyard collaboration for Hector's French Farm Petit Pinot Gin.

Akaroa Craft Distillery and French Peak Vineyard

Sea kelp is the main botanical in our Hector’s Long Harbour Ocean Wash Gin. Our kelp is sustainably sourced and managed from NZ Kelp under New Zealand’s world renown Quota Management System. Certified organic with AsureQuality, NZ Kelp is freshly hand gathered from the ocean. Nothing is added and only water is removed through air drying and gentle dehumidification. Every piece of NZ Kelp can be traced back to the area it was harvested from. The addition of kelp in our gin adds a beautiful minerality and umami soy flavour resulting in a silky smooth finish.

NZ Kelp providing Akaroa Craft Distillery with sustainable and organic kelp for Hector's Long Harbour Ocean Wash Gin.

Akaroa Craft Distillery and NZ Kelp

We named our first gin series Hector’s after the Hector’s Dolphins that habitat in and around Banks Peninsula. These endangered dolphins are as native to New Zealand as the Kiwi. About 1,000 live around the Peninsula and they can easily be seen on one of the many tourist boat offerings available in Akaroa.

We are proud to partner with the New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust and for every bottle of Hector’s Gin sold out of the Akaroa Craft Distillery Tasting House, we donate a portion of sale proceeds back to the trust to aid with their continuing good work in the conservation and preservation of wildlife in Banks Peninsula.

It is our way of giving back and to help preserve the beauty of this place for future generations.

Principal Sponsor of the Akaroa French Festival October 2023

Other articles

United Airlines staff visit the Tasting House

Shamarra Alpacas - The Land of Cute

Akaroa French Festival Spiced Walnut & Honey Gin - Limited Edition