Food and wine have long been the pillars of Victoria’s Yarra Valley, and come April 1, those mainstays are only going to get stronger with the unveiling of Four Pillars’ newly expanded distillery, gin garden and eatery.

On an unassuming road in Healesville, 50 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD, is what the team at Four Pillars is calling Distillery 2.0. Their hope? That it will set a new benchmark for craft gin distilleries throughout the world.

The design of the expanded distillery is by award-winning and sustainability-focused Breathe Architecture. A stunning copper veil encloses the site and reduces energy consumption by pre-cooling water from the stills. Recycled and upcycled concrete and bricks have been utilised throughout, and material made from waste pineapple fibre (known as pineapple ‘leather’) has been used to upholster some of the locally made furniture. The design is industrial, yet the copper and terracotta tones bring warmth to the bar, gin garden and eating areas. The impressive space has a capacity of around 300 people with a range of table, bench, booth and bar stool seating available.

And in a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory moment for adults, gin will be piped directly into the main bar through copper pipes. “Doing this we expect to reduce our glass recycling by about 10 tonnes per year,” says co-founder and head distiller Cameron Mackenzie.

As you walk into the new space, you pass a Four Pillars archive display case featuring the first batch of some of their gins. “We didn’t think to keep the bottles from our first ever batch,” Cameron says. “So, we purchased them from someone who had bought all our first gins, but he hadn’t opened them. We’re going to name the collection after him.”

The distillery has an ever-expanding selection of favourite gins and exclusive releases, such as Spice Trade, the pink-hued Arbory Afloat, Olive Leaf and the ever-popular Bloody Shiraz. But Distillery 2.0 will also offer an expanded range of experiences, including their signature gin masterclass and gin maker sessions.

As well as a varying drinks menu of tasting paddles, classic gin drinks and original cocktails (may we suggest the 36th Chamber – a refreshingly fizzy number made with rare dry gin, yuzu, bergamot, koji and marigold), there’s a substantial snack menu designed by Matt Wilkinson. The menu highlights exceptional local producers as well as incorporating Four Pillars’ spent gin botanicals (think olive leaf gin cured salmon bagel with gin pickles; duck liver pate with Bloody Shiraz Gin jelly; crispy gin-laced potato, zucchini and dill croquettes). “I wanted to put chips and gravy on the menu,” laughs Wilkinson, “but in the end I compromised and we’ve got fries with gin salt.”

A visit to the expanded distillery is not just a gastronomic experience, but a sensory one too. As soon as you enter, the scent of spiced chai hits you. This comes from the ‘chai river’ that runs through the central courtyard and cools the stillage water from the stills. “The liquid left after each distillation is basically a dry, tannic ‘tea’ full of all the botanical flavours that go into our gin,” Cameron explains. “It smells warm and spicy, just like chai.”

The Four Pillars Distillery 2.0 will open on April 1, 2022. 

Four Pillars Distillery
2 Lilydale Road, Healesville
Sun – Thurs: 10:30am – 5:30pm
Fri – Sat: 10:30am – 9:00pm
fourpillarsgin.com