Hastings Distillers

On Heretaunga Street East, concealed behind impressive wooden doors, is Hastings Distillers’ tasting room, a place you need to visit without delay. 

Hastings Distillers is New Zealand’s first and only producer of certified-organic artisan spirits and liqueurs. Co-founder Kate has a background in winemaking and it was while she was drinking a gin and tonic on holiday in Portugal that the seed was planted for a career change-up. Combined with a long-time love and interest in the herbal properties of botanicals, an idea was born. 

Hastings Distillers produces six different gins and liqueurs, all created from organic and biodynamic botanicals, pure plant alcohol and living water. Only the finest ingredients are used in their products; from rare and exotic spices sourced from family friends in France to certified-organic Hawke’s Bay citrus, they work with nature to produce the best spirits possible. 

The tasting room is a space of interior decor beauty, with deep navy-coloured walls, plush turquoise velvet bench seating, high ceilings, and a bar space that is quite unlike anything you've seen before. In the afternoon until 5 pm, you can visit and do a tasting flight, sampling and learning about the different spirits and liqueurs produced here. 

Keen to introduce the European concept of having an aperitif—a drink and light snack before dinner and a chance to catch up with friends, even if just for an hour—Hastings Distillers has a succinct food menu of the perfect bites to accompany their gins and liqueurs. When it comes to the spirits, you can try your selection served with tonic or soda water, or branch out with one of their expertly-made cocktails. 

No matter what you choose to try at the tasting room, visiting Hastings Distillers will be a unique experience.