By Renee Wood
It was reported on Tuesday 7 February that Alchemy Distillers were approved a planning permit to relocate to Yarra Glen, however, due to confusion from a Yarra Ranges Council’s permit summary it was misunderstood and gin producer Mary Monica Gin will be opening up its own distillery at Stag Lane, Yarra Glen.
Mary Monica Gin produces at Alchemy Distillers in Healesville as a gypsy distiller using the site and licensing while preparing to embark on their own venture.
The Reeves family have now been approved to create a farm tourism destination venue with a café, distillery, cellar door and farm tours on the cards as they relocate production from Alchemy to their own distillery.
The 88 acre truffiere and citrus farm will be known as Stag Lane Farm and owner Gayle Reeves said she’s excited to get started.
“The reason why we wanted a farm situation is we distil our fruit within 24 hours of picking it,” Ms Reeves said.
“That enables us to maintain the oils and get a much more intense flavour, especially from our citrus.”
This method is what sets Mary Monica apart from other gins, as they make a seasonal, craft batch of gin.
Ms Reeves son, James, is the head distiller with the whole family embarking on the journey together, including husband Paul and daughter Abbey Trotter.
The family has a rich history in the hotel and hospitality industry and is ready to pursue a new chapter in eco-tourism and learning experiences in Yarra Glen.
They moved from Warrandyte to the property five years ago and have been working since then to improve the land through a regenerative approach.
“As soon as we bought the land, we actually started putting in our orchard and working trying to improve the soil as much as we could,“ she said.
Inspired to first create gin after a trip to Japan, their two gins currently available are Yuzu and Oriental.
“From that point forward, we came back and started researching. There’s not many places you can buy yuzu in in Australia, and we’ve put in 350 yuzu trees that we are growing now on site.”
Yuzu is a cool climate citrus fruit, with a flavour described as being between grape fruit and mandarin.
Other produce planted for gin includes Tatian limes on a cool climate root stock, junipers and slow berries, with an expectation of 600,000 litres of gin to be produced annually.
“A lot of people bring their slows over from Tassie to be able to make their slow gin but our idea is that we’ll actually have it on site.”
Some 50 per cent of the produce used will be grown on site which includes a large veggie garden planned to grow food for the café and stock grazing.
“We want people to be able to experience the food from a garden… we want to show them that the flavour from our eggs and the flavour from our meat and is really an experience.”
You may know Mary Monica Gins from regular market stalls in the Healesville, Yarra Valley area, but soon you will become familiar with the home of the seasonal gin production, with plans to open the farm by the end of the year.
It will be a place where the whole family is invited.
“There’s lots of places in the valley that you can go to as an adult and we just feel that it would be really nice to encourage the kids to come along.“
