Why did we decide to create Fantail Gin?

There's already so much gin out there. Not another gin, I've heard. And so the only way I was going to get into gin making is if I could really make it something special. 

A good 10 years ago I though 'wouldn't it be cool to make 'the gin of Auckland!''. I could forage the botanicals around the city and create something that's true to the city I call home. I shared this idea with fellow bartenders but no one seemed to get excited about it. So I thought it must be a bad idea and never really did anything about it. Turns out, it's hard to imagine someone else's vision, until you see it come to life. How many times have you seen a product or a service and thought - that's a good idea, why didn't I think of that? I reckon we all have those ideas but most of us never execute. So here we are, executing. And we want you to be part of it. 

Fantail Gin celebrates the people in our communities, as well as the things that grow there. While walking around Auckland, whether it's the North Head in Devonport or Mount Eden and even the CBD, I always noticed edible plants that one can either forage for or that grow in peoples backyards. I also noticed that some of these edible plants would be left untouched. And that gave me an idea! Why not put them to good use? My neighbours literally across the road have a magnificent white grapefruit tree but every year I see the grapefruits falling to the ground and just rotting away, because my neighbours simply don't like white grapefruit. I like them and they also make a pretty tasty edition to a gin recipe. 

So here we are, 10 years later, I'm finally making that gin that I thought was a good idea. I want to involve neighbourhoods, people and their backyards, one community at a time to create truly local gins. Fantail Gin will be made one batch at a time anyway, so I might as well make each batch unique, according to what's in season and what the specific neighbourhood I'm working with has to offer. Just imagine the possibilities! 

I'm going to need your help though, I need you to fill out the online questionnaire available on our website to let me know what you think makes a good gin and what grows in your backyard or neighbourhood that we could use. What's in it for you? Well, if you do grow something that would taste good in a gin (basically anything edible) or may be you know a neighbour that does? We might be coming your way to grab some ingredients for our next batch and you get a bottle of the final product in return! Everybody wins. 

Thank you and see you around.

Egor