“The next logical step in that direction was being a principal,” she said.
“I decided to do something completely different so hence I’m setting up a distillery instead.”
She first tried distilling during the Covid-19 lockdowns. New Zealand is one of the few countries that permits home distilling.
Through an online course with The Alembics Lab on Waiheke Island she quickly found a passion for the distilling process.
She is now fully qualified as a distiller through the internationally-recognised Chartered Institute of Brewers and Distillers (CIBD).
Delaney said she hoped to have the distillery doors open by early February.
The building, which has been built from the ground up, will feature a tasting room next to a commercial and operational space.
A selection of its own ready-distilled spirits, including a gin, will be for sale.
“A lot of the locals called it the gin distillery, but we’d never even mentioned that we were going to make gin,” Delaney said.
“So I feel there is a local pressure that perhaps that should be a product that comes out first.”
The distillery plans to begin to offer its feature customisable products by this coming winter.
“We’re hoping that people will taste the adventure in every sip.”
The district is well-known for its adventure tourism and Delaney is an avid biker and skier.
“And that’s something that we sort of want to reflect in what we’re doing.”
Erin Smith is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
