UNIQUELY Queensland

THERE WAS NOTHING to despair, in fact no worries at all, as we pulled into the Sunshine & Sons, Nil Desperandum distillery in beautiful Woombye.

The sun was shining, beautiful blue feathered birds were ducking in and out of the surrounding trees, premium quality gin, vodka and rum lined up against the rainforest backdrop… how could you feel a worry in the world?

Fitting when you consider that the namesake for the delicious dark spirits we were about to taste is Nil Desperandum, a Latin phrase that roughly translates into the old Aussie adage, ‘no worries’. A delightful play on words and homage to the first licensed premise in Woombye.

“In 1871 James Costar was granted a license to sell ‘Fermented and Spirituous Liquors’ at premises in Woombye and his establishment was named Nil Desperandum so when it came time to pick a name for our rum, it seemed fitting. We also think it sums up the relaxed vibe of the Sunshine Coast,” says Matt Hobson, one of the four mates who opened the overarching brand, CAVU Distilling back in July 2019.

The group, also consisting of Adam Chapman, Daniel Vinson and Michael Conrad, took the chance to live out their dream when they left their jobs and got into the distilling game. And, it was a risk that has certainly paid off.

The business opened its doors in January 2020 and began by distilling gin and vodka under the Sunshine & Sons brand. This followed with the launch of the Nil Desperandum rum in early 2022. “We thought we would try our hand at making rum, so on the 22nd of the second, 2022 at 2:22pm, we released Australia’s first certified organic molasses rum and it was a huge success,” Matt says. “We are now, already, the third largest rum producer in Australia.

“We take a lot of pride in this, because we believe rum is Australia’s national spirit. It was on the first fleet in huge quantities. Back then the navy officers of the era were managed with rum. It was rationed out to the military, even used as currency, so rum was really enmeshed in the early history of those settlements.

“We also believe it is a uniquely Queensland spirit, as most of the sugar cane is grown here in our very own state,” he says. “Despite this, Australian rum hasn’t achieved a worldwide reputation yet and we want to change that. Our goal is to bring amazing quality rum to the world stage.”

And after taste testing a few of them, I can safely say Nil Desperandum is well on track to achieving that dream.

The distillery initially launched with a premium limited release rum, The First, in 2022, followed by One Second, which was produced with a more delicate palate. Next up, The Third, aged in a sherry-finished barrel. Finally, came Botanical, a beautiful hybrid rum with subtle notes of coffee bean, cinnamon bark and segments of Sunshine Coast grown limes.

“Every bottle of our rum is unique, designed from a distiller’s point of view and produced with love, art and science using organic molasses, natural wild fermentation, bespoke Australian made copper stills and the finest American bourbon barrels,” Matt says.

“We are unique in that we are one of the only certified organic distilleries in Australia, using beautiful organically certified sugar cane which is harvested and milled here in Queensland. The molasses is a by-product of the milling and we accept that in very large quantities without any man-made chemicals tainting the crisp expressive molasses from that organic sugar cane.

“We add the molasses, which we dilute on site, with beautiful local Woombye water and dunder, a waste product of distillation because it gives a great taste profile after the sugars have been consumed by fermentation. The dunder has a lot of great minerals in it too. Then, we are really pushing the boundaries of science by adding a secondary bacterial infection into the dunder to create muck which brings some expressive aromatic and flavour profiles,” Matt says.

The team at Nil Desperandum has already won multiple awards for their rums in 2022 and have plans to release a Nil Desperandum Special rum in May of 2023.

“It is a big milestone for us so we have decided to partner with a distributor, Proof Drinks Australia, so we can get our brands out to the world. We have a bold vision to be Australia’s finest rum,” Matt tells salt

“It is a very exciting time and we want to bring out a premium rum at a very competitive price point so rum lovers and aficionados can all enjoy it.”

“Our rum is made with so much love and passion and we believe it shines through. All of our rums are very approachable and have what we believe it takes to finally get Australian rum on the international map.”

Not only that, the bottles themselves are impressive.

“Just as the name represents the first legal drinking establishment in the area, we also wanted to pay respect to the traditional custodians of the land we are on – the Gubbi Gubbi people,” Matt says.

“The name Woombye comes from their word ‘Wumbai’ meaning ‘black snake’, so we have a beautiful textured black snake on every single bottle.

“Not only that, a black snake can take out a polar bear with one bite, if you catch my drift…,” he laughs.