Snuggled in at the back of the Depot, past the buzz of the Melbourne Cafe, and the inviting plant coolness of the Plantery is a distillery and tasting room for a Thames gin with jaw-dropping accolades.
Is it possible that this boutique Thames distillery makes the world’s best classic gin? The judges at the World Gin Awards 2022 certainly thought so, when they awarded that title to Awildian’s Class Gin.
It wasn’t a fluke either – at the World Gin Awards 2024, Awildian set the global record for the most Country Winner Gold medals.
It won – get ready – five country gold medals.
🥇 New Zealand London Dry Winner
🥇 New Zealand Matured Winner
🥇 New Zealand Colour Changing Winner
🥇 New Zealand Classic Winner
🥇 New ZealandFlavoured Winner
So what is the story behind this locally-grown gin distillery, and what does Awildian mean?
“Awildian is an archaic word which means “the refusal to be tamed”. It exactly represents the wild Coromandel and our untamed approach to distilling. We don’t like tame.”
And when they say their gin is born from the wildness, they mean it.
Deep in the Kauaeranga Valley, up at Atuatumoe/Sleeping God Canyon, there is a place that Wilderness Magazine calls a hidden playground, and says should be as popular as Cathedral Cove, it’s so breathtaking. The stream – Atuatumoe Stream – is where the water for the gin is sourced. National Geographic calls it a terrifying and exhilarating place, and perhaps some of that aliveness seeps into the gin and makes it stand out from the rest.
However it’s not just the water to blame for the gin’s excellence – its makers have to take some of that credit as well. Scientists Paul Schneider and Daniela Suess, who came to gin by way of harvesting manuka honey, which lead to honey mead explorations, are the artisans behind the bottle. They bring precision, experimentation, and refinement to their craft and after excelling in the crucible of blind taste testing among trusted peers, they made the leap into commercial distilling.
A German 150L still was ordered, a lease in the Depot was signed, and distilling began for real. Paul and Daniela sourced the best possible local ingredients where possible – not everything needed in gin grows in the Coromandel climate, and entered their 2020 prototype gin ‘The Cuckoo’ into the New Zealand Spirit Awards where they won Gold.
Awildian was on its way. They have since won dozens of national and international awards and their Grahamstown-based Distillery is a point of pride for the Thame Community.
Their gin excellence is no accident – beyond the water source and the ingredients, their skills as scientists and their love for gin, Paul and Daniela have been willing to invest in the right choices, from the start. They choose their German still because the business – Carl, a family-run distillation coppersmith – has been in business for 154 years and is the best of the best. They choose to distil in micro-batches so they can give the gin their utmost attention. No choice is accidental. Everything is considered.
And the winners are the gin aficionados who can taste the difference.
Mind you – Paul’s interest in distilling and brewing goes back before the gin, before the mead, and all the way to his University days, when he distilled wine with some friends in his final year of high school. His love of botany was curated the following year at university, on a botany course where he also met Daniela. They fell in love, studies brought Paul to New Zealand, he persuaded Daniela to follow him once her studies had completed, and they eventually found their way to the Coromandel through a DOC job posting. That’s where the honey adventure began, that led to the mead, that led to… the gin.
And how could it ever have been any other way? That this couple from South Africa (where Paul was born) and Germany would end up living in Thames and making world-class, award-winning gin – he the visionary, dream and front person, her the logical, practical and pragmatic. It’s the perfect business combination of Visionary and Integrator according to the book Rocket Fuel by Gina Wickmand. Think Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger, or Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
Because great gin isn’t just about the ingredients and the distillation. It’s also about business. The production, the marketing, the promotion – having the nous to enter the gin competitions and the wherewithal to leverage the results. Paula and Daniela don’t just do great gin, they do great business.
Like offering private batches to the discerning gin drinker or company, that might just need 91-128 bottles of gin made to order. Yes, you can order your own private batch at Awaildian.
Even if you don’t like gin, there’s still much to admire about the way this Thames business was created and curated.
Gin lovers and the gin-curious alike can visit the distillery and taste the gin, or admire the still.
It’s all there, on display, and Paul and Daniela love sharing their passion with the folk who drop by.
