Hartshorn Sheep Whey Gin 500ml

Brand: Hartshorn Distillery

Release Name: Sheep Whey Gin

Spirit Style / Type: Whey-Based Gin, Native Botanical

Composition: Distilled Sheep Whey Base, Juniper Plus 6 Native Australian Botanicals (Including 2 Never Used in Any Other Gin)

Age: Non-Vintage

Volume: 500ml Bottle

Alc / Vol (%): 40.0%

Country: Australia

Region: Birchs Bay, Southern Tasmania

Production Method: Vapour-Infused Botanicals (Rather Than Steeped), Unfiltered

Limited Edition: No (Hartshorn's Standing Sheep Whey Gin Release — Though Produced in Genuinely Tiny Batches, Sometimes as Few as 10 Bottles)

Award Winner: Yes — Gold Medal, World Gin Awards 2018; #1 Australia's Favourite Gin, Covent Garden Hottest 100 Gins 2021

Hartshorn Distillery is a micro-distillery based in Birchs Bay, deep in southern Tasmania, run by head distiller Ryan Hartshorn alongside his family's Grandvewe Cheeses fromagerie. Widely regarded as one of the smallest distilleries in Australia, Hartshorn pioneered the world-first technique of distilling spirits from sheep whey, turning a cheesemaking byproduct into an award-dominating product line spanning vodka, gin and the rare, only-every-three-years "Whey-sky." Every bottle is hand painted and signed, reflecting the distillery's genuinely small-batch, paddock-to-bottle ethos and its remarkable, sustained run of Australian and international vodka awards.

Head Distiller Ryan Hartshorn set out to create a genuinely different Tasmanian gin — beyond the juniper, his original goal was to use only wild-harvested Tasmanian native botanicals, but some of the most impressive berries, leaves and seeds he found simply couldn't be sourced at practical volumes for ongoing production. He broadened the list to Australian native botanicals more broadly, landing on six native ingredients plus juniper, three of which had never been used in any other gin before. Every botanical is vapour-infused rather than steeped — a technique rarely used in Australian gin-making — giving it a noticeably more delicate, subtle bouquet than steeped gins typically achieve. Layered onto that is the same distilled sheep whey base used in Hartshorn's award-winning vodka, giving the finished gin a genuinely creamy, milky mouthfeel unlike anything else on the market. That originality has been formally recognised: a Gold Medal at the World Gin Awards 2018, and the #1 spot in the Covent Garden Hottest 100 Gins 2021 — a genuinely significant result for such a tiny, family-run operation. Best enjoyed neat, in a Martini, with soda water, or only light tonics — the distillery specifically warns against heavy tonic, which can overwhelm the gin's delicate character. A genuinely original, story-rich gin for adventurous drinkers and collectors alike.