Brisbane Gin Festival drops in for a long weekend
Sixteen Australian and New Zealand distillers under one roof. Pace yourself, eat first, walk if you can.
The Brisbane Gin Festival has been moving venues for four years and seems to have settled, this year at least, on the converted warehouse just up from the railway crossing on Abbotsford Road. The space holds about six hundred people comfortably and probably eight hundred uncomfortably, which is generally how it ends up by 7pm on the Saturday.
Sixteen distillers across three days. Fourteen are Australian. Two are flown in from New Zealand specifically for this event. There is a dedicated alcohol-free section that has grown each year and is now genuinely worth visiting on its own merits.
The format
You buy a ticket. You collect a tasting glass at the door. You move between distiller stations sampling small pours. There is a tokens system for the proper cocktails. There are food trucks parked along the loading dock for when you need to slow yourself down. There are no seats, you stand all night, wear flat shoes.
Distillers worth queuing for
Granddad Jack's. Gold Coast outfit run by a grandfather and grandson. Their navy-strength is the pick. Last year they brought a barrel-aged finish that sold out by Saturday lunchtime.
Kalki Moon. Bundaberg-based, slightly under-the-radar. The strawberry gin sounds like a marketing exercise but is genuinely the best of its kind we have tasted. Pair with a good tonic.
Tamborine Mountain Distillery. Queensland classic. Their bush-foraged gin uses lemon myrtle, sandalwood and finger lime. Worth a tasting flight if they offer one.
Husk. Tweed Heads. Their Ink gin (butterfly pea flower colour-changing) is the gimmick. Their dry gin is the actual purchase to take home.
Imbue Distillery. Yarra Valley. Stronger emphasis on classics done well rather than novelty. The barrel-aged is dangerously easy to drink.
What to do beforehand
Eat a proper meal before you arrive. The food trucks are good but the queues get long, and you will not eat enough to keep pace with the tastings if you start hungry. We always do an early dinner at one of the local pubs and walk over.
Drink water. The venue has free water stations. Use them. The tasting pours are small but they add up faster than you expect because you are walking and standing, and gin works on you differently in a hot room.
Plan your transport. Rideshare gets expensive after 9pm, the train runs until midnight, the bus options are not great. Walk if you live within reach.
Tickets and timings
Friday is the quieter session, recommended if you want to actually talk to the distillers. Saturday is louder, busier, more like a party. Sunday afternoon is a slower wind-down with masterclasses and food pairings, smaller crowd, often the best session of the weekend.
Read next
Other one-night-only entries on the calendar are the Espresso Martini Festival and the Rosé and Cheese party. The full month sits on what's on. If you need a recommendation for a sober ride home or a local catering crew for your own event, check The Local List.