Meet the man behind the Wild Flower Gin Distillery.
Meet the man behind the Wild Flower Gin Distillery.
We at Inside Gold Coast are naturally, all about the Gold Coast. So when a new distillery pops up in our lovely land we are quick to pounce on it. And when it is as good as Wild Flower Gin, we of course want to get to know the person behind this genius creation. Enter James Greig. In this interview, we delve into the true meaning behind the ‘Wild Flower’ name and what James really loves about his home of 23 years. Ohh and keep reading for a sneaky Gin Cocktail recipe!
How long have you been a Gold Coast local?
I migrated to Australia (straight into the Gold Coast) when I was 14 – so 23 years ago.
Tell us how Wild Flower Gin came about.
Our distillery is a passion project, one we started as a result of being hobbyists for quite a few years. In particular, Tudor (our head distiller) was distilling back in New Zealand early on. We wanted to find a cool way to combine our two hobbies, mine being beekeeping and distilling. This resulted in a gin (after 76 iterations) that included the honey that my bees created in my backyard – the idea being that everyone in our local community can contribute to our gin just by helping the bees with flowers in their backyards. That’s why we’re called “Wild Flower Gin”. Our timing wasn’t the best – launching the week before lockdown and with our first product being Hand Sanitiser! We eventually launched our first gin, Wild Flower Signature Gin, it sold out almost instantly and as a result, we had to switch to pre-mixed cans to fill in the two-month gap it would take to get new bottles.
What’s your proudest entrepreneurial moment?
Our proudest moment was winning the award for one of Australia’s best gins. It made us feel like all the effort we had put in over the many years prior was being recognised.
What’s the most popular Wild Flower spirit you sell?
Our most popular drink is the Signature Gin, which is now in over 120 bottle shops.
What’s your personal favourite Wild Flower spirit and why?
My favourite is the whisky that is in Barrels at the moment. They are maturing brilliantly and we’re super excited about what’s to come.
What’s a Gin Cocktail recipe you would recommend to all Gin-lovers?
We have so many to try at the distillery, but my current favourite is the Raspberry Bloom.
What do the next 5 years have in store for the Wild Flower Gin Distillery?
We are super focused on local at the moment, so we are working with our favourite bars and restaurants locally. Beyond that our goals are to keep creating unique, interesting and fun projects that we can share from our distillery.
Tell us your favourites on the Coast…
Café: Blackboard Varsity – My local. Great team, good coffee.
Coffee spot: We love any coffee from The Laughing Pug. They are a local company and are the base ingredient for our Espresso Martini.
Restaurant: Aloha bar – Rory initially helped us design and setup our bar. They have great food, and a fantastic atmosphere.
Bar or pub for a drink: Las Palmas (They are the only bar that stocks our oaked gin, which they use in their Negroni’s)