Kolmark's stainless steel craftsmanship already features in factories throughout Tasmania, but when the company was asked to make a copper pot still for a customer, it gave business partners Tim Freeman and Mark Kolodziej an idea.
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They set up the brand Stillsmiths Tasmania, designing commercial distillery equipment for the rapidly growing market in Tasmania to be fabricated and installed by Kolmark.
Now the pair have taken another step: launching their own distillery on the main street of Westbury.
Western Tiers Distillery was opened on Tuesday, featuring a cafe adorned with their handmade copper stills and artwork, along with the launch of two gins Dry's Bluff and Nells Bluff.
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"We thought, what better way to showcase the copper stills than by building our own distillery?" Mr Freeman said.
"We made Western Tiers Distillery as a showcase for what we can manufacture here in Tasmania, and to keep manufacturing in Tasmania."
Fabricators by trade, the pair enlisted the help of master distiller Damian Mackey to mentor their distiller, John Scott. The production is fully automated, allowing greater focus on refining the final product.
A vodka will be added to their range in the coming weeks, along with a triple-distilled Irish moonshine from mid-April.
The site has two gin stills and they will soon be ready to begin whisky production, although the whisky won't be ready for at least two years to give it time to age.
Tasmania has seen a significant increase in the number of unique gin distilleries in recent years, and Mr Freeman said their business would be able to offer something different after years of "making works of art" for other distilleries around the state.
"We want to be a destination for people to come to, and then explore the rest of the Meander Valley while they're here," he said.
"The steel is artwork, really. People have just got to come and enjoy the serenity.
"Our motto is 'we love what we do', and we genuinely do."