The new Foxdog Distillery is owned and operated by the family who created the nearby luxury accommodation Jaguar Stay. Photos: Foxdog Distillery.
A new craft distillery at Mogo has been delighting locals and tourists alike. Foxdog Distillery opened in September, and is owned and run by a local family who want to bring the essence of the landscape to the forefront of their spirits.
Kellie Plenty and her family are excited to finally have opened the doors on what has been a mammoth project. They’re thrilled with the response so far from the community.
“It’s been excellent,” Kellie said. ”The locals have been waiting very patiently because we’ve been building for a few years now. So we’ve had a lot of locals who are very excited we have finally opened!
“We’ve been super busy and were at capacity for pretty much the whole long weekend, so it’s off to a flying start!”
Dean Abel (left) and Ben Plenty at work making gin on-site.
The opening list of Foxdog’s craft spirits includes a Samphire Gin, which heroes the naturally occurring native species, harvested from the banks of the Tomaga River on the property. A soon-to-be-released Rosella Gin includes rosella calyxes grown by Foxdog matriarch Kate Abel at the distillery as well. Also on offer is a signature vodka, vanilla vodka, navy-strength gin and mandarin gin, made with the peels of locally grown fruit.
Each spirit has been developed with the assistance of a distilling adviser, Tim Hosken, distillery manager of Archie Rose Gin, and director of Locally Crafted. Kellie, her husband Ben, brother Dean Abel and dad Robert Abel have all been learning about distilling and are running the stills.
“It’s been a steep learning curve,” Kellie said. ”When we decided to build a distillery, we had no idea about distilling, although we knew we enjoyed drinking gin!”
For now, their spirits are available only at the distillery, but they’re hoping to boost production to a level whereby they can supply local restaurants and bottle shops soon. They also plan to move into brewing beer and distilling whisky.
“We knew from the start that we wanted to build something that was big enough to do anything and everything we wanted,” Kellie said. ”So we’ve purchased all our equipment to be able to do beer and whisky in the future. We’re all set up to start that next year.”
The distillery is close to the newly opened Mogo Trails, and the family has already had plenty of cyclists visit for a post-ride meal.
The new distillery also features a cafe with an impressive pizza oven, space for the kids to play and a new function centre that is available for private bookings. We can expect to see Foxdog become a popular wedding venue in the future! The cafe menu features burgers, share plates and a selection of mouth-watering pizzas, all designed to pair with the spirits and cocktails created on-site.
The family also owns and operates luxury accommodation Jaguar Stay next door and both venues are just across the river from the iconic Mogo Wildlife Park, and close to Tomakin and Broulee beaches. Tours and distilling workshops will be available later in the year for guests to create their own spirits. The distillery is also close by the newly opened Mogo mountain bike trails, covering 150 km, which is slated to draw in more two-wheeled visitors to the region.
“It’s a beautiful sanctuary, so come for the weekend; there’s just so much to do. And it’s all on the same site and only 10 minutes from the beach!” Kellie said.
Foxdog Distillery is at Sunnyside Farm, 312 Tomakin Rd, Mogo, NSW.
It is open from 11 am to 4 pm Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 11 am to 8 pm Thursday to Saturday. Closed Mondays.
Follow Foxdog on Facebook or Instagram and book online.
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