Hold Fast Distillery — Local services in Braidwood

My sister bought the family a gin distillation class and it was so much fun! We were hosted/taught by Jane, who I gather is the mother of the distiller. The format of the class was a bit ad-hock, we heard a bit about their history, tasted a gin, then distilled feeling a bit blind to the process, then tasted more gin as Jane brought some food down from the pub.

Looking at the binder we were given there was clearly a more structured lesson plan that wasn’t quite delivered the way it was intended, but Jane preferred to keep things chill and going with the flow.

Whilst a serious experienced distiller might have felt annoyed at this approach, we thought it was fantastic! Instead of feeling instructional it felt like we spent 3 hours chilling with someone who loved their craft, loved her son’s passion, was honest about the bits she didn’t know (and which gins she didn’t like), but was so keen for us to experience all the variety this small family distillery had to offer.

She spoke with honesty and passion about their different spirits, there was 0 sales pitch, we felt like we just got to take an honest peek into the life of a small distillery and their experimentation and passion; be it tasting their less-sweet take on slow gin or a cautious sniff of their infusion of Carolina reaper chillis. Jane told us which spirits were better with tonic, which were better with ice, and when I had an ingredients question she didn’t know she made sure to investigate so I could have an answer. That was wonderfully authentic, interesting, and awesome!

The other bonus was we weren’t just mixing already-infused distillates. We were smelling raw botanicals from the jars themselves, which was fascinating and it felt so creative!

By the end we were measuring the alcohol content in our gins, then bottling, laughing at my dad’s mis-measuring of one of the ingredients and the happy-accident gin he produced, and in the leftover time Jane and dad had a good chat over gin about strata/council rules on trees and conservation.

It wasn’t what I expected from a gin class, but was such a relaxed and friendly environment, yet still very professional, and on the car trip back to Canberra it was all my family could talk about. We had such a great time.

Just as we left and had a final taste of a gin my clumsy self accidentally knocked over half a bottle of tonic water (no I hadn’t had too much, the class is very responsible with consumption, I just have autism which effects motor skills), and despite my horror and embarrassment Jane was very understanding and insisted i don’t clean it up myself.

Jane came across as friendly, authentic professional, like we’d been invited into her family’s business. It was a fantastic unique experience and as long as you have an open mind as to what your 3 hours will be I think you’ll have a...

Hi Gavin Visiting the distillery today was a great experience. I really enjoyed hearing about the heritage of the pub as well as the local town, it was really interesting. Your knowledge of the distilling process is outstanding, your explanations with the diagrams made a complex process easy to understand. I loved the extensive variety of botanicals that you have available to add to make your own individual flavoured gin. I was so pleased to make my own unique flavoured gin and to have my name on the label as the distiller. From the moment we arrived the environment felt relaxing and comfortable. Your generosity and knowledge and the experience you gave today was fantastic. I would highly recommend this experience to gin lovers or others who want to do something different. I look forward to seeing what you will achieve in the future. Thanks...

Gav was an exceptional host, providing a highly passionate and informative tasting experience.

The carefully considered philosophy and narrative behind the Hold Fast Distillery range is profoundly sincere and genuine, with this exemplary character following through in the quality and flavour of the Gin, Vodka and Whiskey produced.

The 170 year old venue, located in the basement of a historic pub, was great to visit and enhances the atmosphere of the tasting.

I would highly recommend this destination when in town. Thanks Gav, we will...