Gold Coast Gin Masterclass

This small-group gin masterclass is a hands-on distillery session for anyone keen to go beyond a standard tasting. You’ll get an introduction to the history of gin, learn how distillation works and find out how different botanicals shape the flavour. The main draw is making your own gin from a choice of 50 botanicals, then distilling a personalised 500ml bottle using a small copper still. At $180, it sits more in the special-occasion category than the cheap-and-cheerful one, but you do leave with a bottle you made yourself.

The session runs for around two hours and is led by a master distiller. It starts with a lesson on gin, including its history and the basics of the distillation process. From there, you’ll work through the botanicals, choosing from a large range to build your own flavour profile. You’ll then use a 2.5-litre alembic copper still to distil your gin and produce a 500ml bottle to take away. There’s also a gin tasting as part of the class. The experience is for adults aged 18 and over only.