Our Story
History of The West Winds Gins
The Story
The West Winds Gins were created by four intrepid and adventurous Aussies who wanted to realise a vision – to produce distinctive Australian gin that would rival the best in the world. They wanted to create Damn Fine Gin, from Australia.
The resulting journey began in a bar in Balaclava in suburban Melbourne in 2010 when 2005 42BELOW World Cocktail Champion Jason Chan took Paul White (engineer, and distiller), Jeremy Spencer (spirits industry identity), and James Clarke (wine industry expert) through a lineup of gins as he espoused his vision: two gins, both savoury in character, one at 40% incorporating toasted Australian wattle seed and one at 50% incorporating native Australian bush tomato.
Just over a year later in early 2011, Tailor Made released the two artisan gins into the market. The vision had come to fruition. The Sabre, a London Dry Gin, at 40% with toasted wattle seed and The Cutlass, the stronger 50% with kutjera (native bush tomato) were ready for consumption.
The Cutlass and The Sabre were both submitted to the 2011 San Francisco International Spirits Competition, taking Double Gold and Gold awards respectively. With this The West Winds Gins were launched to an appreciative international crowd who were embracing the resurgence and revival of artisanal distilling.
The secret to their immediate success was due to their use of distinctly Australian botanicals with a selection of more traditional ingredients, creating exceptional contemporary Australian gins.
The prestigious ‘Double Gold’ for The Cutlass was a first for an Australian gin producer and was not a fluke. Both The Cutlass and The Sabre have gone on to reap other global awards including a second Double Gold for The Cutlass after the Company’s second entry in the San Francisco Competition again in 2013.
The premium gins have been rewarded with Australian accolades including The Best On-premise Spirit or Liqueur at the 2013 Australian Liquor Industry Awards in 2013 and Champion Gin at the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards 2014.
In 2014, our newest gin, to be released to the Australian market in 2015, was awarded Double Gold at the New York World Wine and Spirits Competition.
The West Winds Gins are unashamedly different and uniquely Australian. Inspired by seafarers, distilled by craftsmen, The West Winds Gins are Damn Fine Gins, from Australia.
Watch Jez talking about the Origins of the Gins
The People
Our distinctive, handcrafted gins rely on a perfect balance of ingredients. Each must be complimentary to the other to make the best gin we can.
So it is with the people that make The West Winds Gin. Each has a specialist skill or knowledge and each is as different as the other. Collectively, the right recipe is the reason for our success.
Who is behind The West Winds Gins?
WARNING: Under the Liquor Control Act 1988 (Western Australia), it is an offence: – to sell or supply liquor to a person under the age of 18 years on licensed or regulated premises; or – for a person under the age of 18 years to purchase, or attempt to purchase, liquor on licensed or regulated premises.
Licence Number: 33768924
Class of Licence: Pre-Retail Licence
Name of Licensee: The Tailor Made Spirits Company