Braidwood-made liqueurs with a taste of citrus win accolades at national awards

Next time you’re making some cocktails, think of two liqueurs you may not have planned on reaching for.

At Hold Fast Distillery, Gavin Gillin and his team make craft gin, vodka, liqueurs and whisky out of the historic Braidwood Hotel.

Their yuzucello liqueur was awarded a silver medal, while the limoncello came home with the bronze at the recent Australian Distilled Spirits Awards.

“I’m happy with the awards because it shows that we’re on the right path with what we’re actually doing,” he told Region.

“But the awards were also won collectively by the team at Hold Fast, and they’ve all worked hard to get the spirit where it needs to be.”

The liqueurs are created using the zest from either a lemon or yuzu (a citrus fruit that originated in East Asia).

“We sit that in high-strength spirit to extract the citrus acid and the oils,” Mr Gillin said.

“After that, we end up hydrating it to bring it down to proof [a measure of alcohol content in a beverage] of about 30 per cent.

“I’m also slowly adding a bit of sugar syrup to counteract the tartness and bitterness and a little bit more of the juice from the pulp to lift the flavour.”

But before the distilling can begin, the fruits need to be collected from local farms – the lemons sourced from Braidwood and the yuzu travelling from the NSW South Coast.

“Using local produce – or local shopping – is really important because it not only provides local jobs, but also builds local economies,” Mr Gillin said.

While Mr Gillin learned about yuzus during his time in Japan, the limoncello took on the name ‘Strait of Messina’ after he sailed through the actual passageway.

“In 2009, I was actually taking a ship through the Strait of Messina, and that was the first time that I’d gone to Italy. I tried limoncello for the first time,” he said.

“I was pretty fortunate from my career in the Navy that I was always travelling around and seeing a lot of other places.

“I would always try a bit of a spirit when travelling, which builds your palette. The best way of making a good palette is to understand what’s good and what’s bad.”

For Mr Gillin, developing the recipes saw some trial and error, though both spirits have been welcomed.

“The limoncello is one of our biggest sellers and we can’t even keep up with production at the moment,” he said.

“The yuzucello is seasonal – last year we sold 192 bottles in five days. We’ve only had a small batch this year because the trees didn’t produce that much fruit, so we have 130 bottles.”

Should you look for some yuzucello or limoncello to slake your thirst with, Mr Gillin recommends using them in cocktails.

“A lot of people think you can just drink it as a shot,” he said.

“But you can sip it, or you can mix it with a bit of soda water or lemonade.”

Hold Fast Distillery is located at the Braidwood Hotel, 180 Wallace Street, Braidwood, NSW.