Breezy botanicals

Join gin tastings and sip on fragrant botanicals, crafted to lift the spirits, on a jaunt out of Melbourne. Explore regional distillery doors and taste handmade tipples, from the Mornington Peninsula to the Great Ocean Road and beyond.

An easy hour’s drive from Melbourne lands you on the Mornington Peninsula where coastal wineries share the limelight with a handful of boutique gin distilleries. Head to Somerville and stop in at innovative distilleries like Original Spirit Co and Chiefs Son to sample award-winning spirits made with a whole lotta love and care.

Four Pillars Gin distillery has pinned Healesville firmly to Victoria’s gin trail. Since 2013, they’ve surfed the craft gin boom to lofty heights. Treat your palate to paddles of G&T tasters at the Distillery Door, open seven days a week. Join a tour or book a masterclass. While you're out that way, be sure to pop into Naught Distilling in leafy Eltham to sip your way through their extensive gin cocktail list.

Nestled in the Daylesford and Macedon Ranges is a flourishing gin movement. Macedon region’s Big Tree Distillery and Mountain Distilling are purveyors of finely crafted herbaceous and botanical gins. Producing limited batches and locally sourced, these distillates are as distinctive as the bottles in which they are lovingly stored. And while you’re soaking up the scenery and spas of Hepburn near Daylesford, stop in at Hepburn Distillery for a spirited tasting.

Making a splash around Geelong and the Bellarine are a vibrant bunch of boutique distilleries and gin bars. Geelong’s small-batch Anther distillery and bar blends science and botanicals based on Australian native plants. Bellarine Distillery's cellar door The Whiskery welcomes you with unique botanical blends and whisky. Graze and gin taste on locally sourced ingredients at Queenscliff Distillery or pull up a pew at Black Sheep Geelong for local gins shaken, stirred or mixed.

Great Ocean Road in a day? Perhaps a stretch but it's all in pursuit of classic or aromatic gin blends paired with top-tier tonics. From Anglesea's Great Ocean Road Gin kitchen, wind inland to Forrest and the Otways Distillery, a micro artisan distillery that includes infused gins with ingredients sourced straight from the garden. Return to the coast and Apollo Bay Distillery for handmade gin with a nod to nautical history and local botanicals. Sit down to a wood-fired pizza and sea views while you're here.