Founded in late 2019 in the heart of Thames, couple Daniela Suess and Paul Schneider began their journey launching the Coromandel Distilling Company.
What started as fermenting mead at home using mānuka honey from their own hives, Paul describes their success as, “nothing that you can expect in any way.”
The excellence of the company's gin has recently been recognised at the World Drinks Awards held in the UK. The awards won were for the company's two flagship gins, Awildian Coromandel Dry Gin, and Coromandel Mānuka Gin.
Both gin's won best in the country and went against all the best from around the world, with the Awildian Coromandel Dry Gin receiving the World’s Best Classic Gin Award.
“It was a huge surprise for us, nothing can prepare you for this,” says Scheider. “We were already over the moon when we found out that the Gins had won NZ Best, and a couple of weeks later when we found out that we had actually won the World's Best, well I guess it's still sinking in.”
One thing that makes the Coromandel Distilling Company so special is their use of natural products sourced in the local Coromandel region. With a third of the ingredients used being either grown or harvested by Suess and Schneider themselves, the gin’s contain at least 20 different raw ingredients.
Although their production has increased tremendously in the past months, the quality of the gin is something the couple will never compromise.
“The most exciting part of the journey was getting the ingredients to work together.”
Schneider describes the process of distilling gin as a Symphonic Orchestra where “every musician in the room needs to work in harmony with the other instruments, and that’s how the ingredients of a good classic gin should really work.”
In the near future, the distillery would like to have their products available at exclusive bars and restaurants throughout New Zealand. The company is also continuing to work towards creating a 0% gin for their customers.
The Coromandel Distilling Company Depot is based in Thames and can be visited by locals and visitors alike.
Te Waka worked with Coromandel Distilling Company when they were just a start-up company that was just embarking on the journey. A Getting Started Grant was approved for the development of the alcohol-free Gin, that has been delayed by Covid constraints.
