Here in Australia right now it is a long dry, drought affected hot and smoky Summer. Folks outside the cities are doing it tough and so there’s been encouragement for everyone else to get out there and make a difference by visiting these places and showing support in a practical way.
So a few weeks back I headed up to the Southern Highlands of New South Wales for a weekend. Usually lush and green and a haven for some well healed celebrities and the like, now it’s a sea of dead grass and empty dams for the most part.
I took the opportunity to head to a place I’d only heard about, the little heritage site of Joadja which is some 30 or so minutes drive inland from Bowral along some great backroads.
What I didn’t expect was an amazing heritage site of what was a mining town of some 1200 souls, now abandoned with old houses and industrial relics scattered across a valley, which you get to by following a step twist road down into it.
In the midst of this sits Joadja Distillery quietly making award winning gin, whisky and rum and other good stuff. Valero and Elisa Jimenez own the site and are passionate about it’s history and established the distillery in 2014. Using their own grain grown a few steps from the front door, they have a gravity fed natural spring, and are off grid for electricity.
After experiencing the atmosphere of the site (they offer regular tours of the valley and it’s historical sites regularly) we moved onto the tasting and discussion of how they go about crafting their spirits inspired by the place.
I’ll let Valero do the talking from now on.
Introducing the distillery
About the range part 1
About the range part 2 and where to purchase
Details
- Joadja Distillery – see website for detailed directions
- Or type Latitude and Longitude coordinates into your Sat Nav to be sure: 34°24’15.3″S 150°13’40.3″E
- Website: www.joadjadistillery.com.au
- Facebook page
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