Saturday June 12 marks World Gin Day

A few short years ago there were only a smattering of distilleries across the state - now, there are trails and tours across the state with multiple to visit.

Saturday June 12 marks World Gin Day - a day designed to celebrate everything the industry has to offer - from tasty drinks to employment opportunities and a boost for regional tourism.

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The industry has seen considerable growth in sales over the years - and continues to grow from strength to strength.

There are many reasons to this according to industry professional Cam Brett.

Mr Brett wears two hats, as co-owner and distiller at Spring Bay Distillery, and as the president of the Tasmanian Whisky and Spirits Association.

Under his distillery hat, Mr Brett and his team, including wife and fellow co-owner Suzy, are getting prepared to showcase at Hobart's Dark Mofo Winter Feast for the very first time, preparing a list of specialty drinks - including gin cocktails and whisky, something he is incredibly excited about.

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Operating for six years at Spring Beach, a short drive from Orford on the East Coast, he said that he continues to see growth not just for himself but others in the industry.

"We saw 92 per cent growth just last year, it's unbelievably up and the market is more crowded than it was," he said.

"To see growth on growth on growth, considering how many distilleries are opening up on the market and the new gins, not just across Tasmania but across the country, is just amazing."

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Mr Brett said he and others had seen considerable growth pre-COVID, saying that gin has become more popular in the last three years.

"It's only about three of four years ago we started seeing the emergency of craft gins across the state, I think the development of the industry has really stimulated a lot of local consumers," he said.

"They've started trying their local craft gin because nearly every town has a distillery now, and towns get very loyal towards their local. People are experimenting with craft gins and it's become like a movement.

"Gin is a great drink - I think the fact that there's so many now is a strength, like with the whisky industry trying new types was a journey, now people have been trying different gins as an adventure, not just a drink."

Fellow co-owner and Cam's wife Suzy said she believed the growth was attributable to people's growing curiosity about where and how their spirits are made.

"People actually want to know what they're drinking and see where it's been made - with gin it's not that people are buying one bottle, but they're buying multiple - so there's one for every occasion," she said.

"It's very good in Australia - each gin is quite unique, the local angle with gin making is critical to the whole experience."

With two stills for producing spirits, Spring Bay Distillery has seen so much growth that they're often dedicating one of the stills purely to the production of gin.

Another part of the process for the business is distribution - Mr Brett saying that the support of distributors and third-party platforms to help get product to market and put them alongside international brands.

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It's something being celebrated by one of Spring Bay Distillery's retailers, at Dan Murphy's - who have added 42 new Australian gins to their range as demand for local gin continues.

The retailer now stocks 400 different Australian gins.

Glass spirits category manager Elise McNeil said they had seen an increase in demand for local product across all drink categories, but the trend was most noticeable in gin.

"The majority of our gin range is now made up of homegrown gins. A couple of years ago, imported gins - especially from the UK - used to rule the gin shelves," she said.

"Australian-made craft gin has been growing rapidly in the last five years, and we are seeing the segment surpass vodka, which used to be the best-selling white spirit."

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Wearing his association president hat, Mr Brett said that in Tasmania, they were excited about the spread of distilleries across the state, all making "very good quality product".

"We're at the moment in the process of making a gin trail - we've had a whisky trail for some time now, but the demand is there," he said.

"We've been getting great support from Tourism Tasmania and the state government because it promotes people getting out into regional areas, but also employment - the distilleries are employing a lot of people locally, across all ages and all demographics."

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