Grand opening celebrations for micro distillery

Redcliffe’s first micro distillery, Peninsula Distilling celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, July 6.

The launch showcased some of the distillery’s first spirits, including its Humpybong gin and Hornibrook vodka; and announced the opening of its cellar door.

Co-owner Carlos Ortega expressed his appreciation for how many people showed up.

“Thank you all for coming here today – it’s a nice turn out for community,” he says.

“It started off as three guys drinking in a bar, as you do. We decided to kick off something local that we can be proud of as a local community. That’s why you see the names on our products – Humpybong, Hornibrook and Moreton.”

Head distiller Arnold Keuker and business partners Carlos Ortega and Pei-Onn Lee worked hard to get to where they are today; making sure to support local.

“We tried to stick to everything local. The barrels and the stills were all locally made by a good friend of ours – Damian Howarth – who unfortunately passed away late last year,” Carlos says.

“It’s a tribute to his work and his products – very professional and high quality.”

Being environmentally friendly is also important to the trio.

“We’re all about sustainability by creating zero waste – up on the roof we’ve got a 15-kilowatt solar system that we’re going to use in solar power to run the stills,” Carlos explains.

“All the water is filtered and for the waste – we’ve actually had about four trips to farmers – giving the molasses waste to the animals; so, as I said, nothing will go down the sink.”

Peninsula Distilling’s cellar door opening hours until August 20 are as follows:

Friday: 5pm to 8pm

Saturday: 10am to 2pm

Sunday: 10am to 2pm

For more information, visit the website.

Peninsula Distilling is at 2/293 Macdonnell Rd, Clontarf. 

See the gallery below

Photos by Ashley van Praagh