The Grove Experience’s James Reed is a man of few words, big ambitions and a deep sense of pride in his work.
The amiable Alaskan has been distilling since the age of 14 and says he creates beverages “to drink neat, not mix.”
After receiving global accolades for his Spiced Caribbean Rum at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition and most recently part of The Grove’s title as Australia’s Best Absinthe Distillery, Reed’s advice is not to be taken lightly.
The Grove owner and manager Val Hughes agrees that the estate has always strived for perfection and says their award-winning gin is, “for drinkin’, not mixin’.”
“We are exceptionally proud of the performance and the rewards we have received at the various spirit competitions around the world, particularly in the last couple of years,” Mrs Hughes said.
“It’s quite overwhelming to be recognised, what we do here is on a smaller scale to ensure extremely high quality so to effectively have the world knocking on our door is incredible.”
The small batch process undertaken by Reed and The Grove distilling team allows produce of a higher quality to be used.
“For example with our spiced rum, because we are not producing the quantities of say, Sailor Jerry or Captain Morgan, we are able to use high quality ingredients, like beautiful vanilla pods that the larger producers can’t use at their volumes,” Mr Reed said as he led the Mail on a tour of the distillery.
The spiced rum took out both the Best in Show and Double Gold at the San Francisco show and is only produced in batches of 300 bottles.
A brand new sparkling still has just been unpacked at the Wilyabrup estate and Reed said he was excited to start working with it.
“The new still is really exciting, it’s the best of the best and I expect a lot of high quality spirits will be created in this one,” he said, tapping the machine proudly.
Taking the crown for absinthe distilling alongside their gold-medal gin at the 2016 Melbourne International Spirits Competition was another surprise for Hughes.
“There are a number of great distilleries around the country making absinthe, so to be picked out as the best in the land is such a satisfying achievement,” she said.
Mrs Hughes and The Grove team will head to Melbourne in November for the Junipalooza Gin Festival which arrives in Australia after a successful London installment of the celebration of all things gin.
“We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds, it’s very exciting times at The Grove.”
Nicky Lefebvre
I am a journalist, photographer and content creator based in the beautiful Margaret River wine region, covering all aspects of our community including local news, sport, entertainment and events, as well as providing a platform for our readers to share their voices direct from regional Australia.
I am a journalist, photographer and content creator based in the beautiful Margaret River wine region, covering all aspects of our community including local news, sport, entertainment and events, as well as providing a platform for our readers to share their voices direct from regional Australia.
