DISTILLING ON THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD

If you spot a solo figure combing the white wash at Anglesea’s Guvvos Beach at change of tide, chances are it’s Ann Houlihan.

Ann is founder and maker at Great Ocean Road Gin Kitchen and Tasting Room (Airey’s Inlet), and their brand new distillery (Torquay). Loose kelp left behind by the receding tide is one of many native botanicals Ann sources locally.

“We wanted to create coastal gins that are unique to their location and use only small quantities of botanicals in each batch,” Ann said. “It’s how we create a true ‘gin of place’, a gin of provenance.”

“We use a network of local micro-producers, growers and supply partners to connect us with native honey, eucalypts, saltbush, pig face, hop wattle, coastal ti tree and more,” Ann said. “We buy in river mint from a property in Deans Marsh and dry it ourselves. I forage kelp at Guvvos and wild fennel along the backroads of Anglesea.”

“We’re all about the unique experience Australian botanicals give in the glass. Our first gin, named Guvvos after the beach, has 24 botanicals, nine of them local. We now have six gins in our range.”

For Ann, there’s no better place than the Surf Coast to make a life … or to make gin.

“I love this place. It’s a huge part of my life. With a deep family connection and a lifetime of happy weekending on the Surf Coast, I knew I had to live here fulltime. Part of the drive to live here was to be a part of the thriving food and booze scene on the coast.”

“When people tell me they don’t like gin, I say often it’s the tonic they don’t like. We then encourage them to have a taste of the gin, to try it neat, then add mixers and garnish. Experiment with flavours, try a gin cocktail. We are after all in the business of enjoyment.” greatoceanroadgin.com.au