The Distillery

Every step of the Humdinger way, we consider quality first - not cost, nor time, but quality and the results speak for themselves! Want to see for yourself, feel free to visit us.

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    The Workhorse 220L

    Our beautiful 30yr old, German-made copper still does our heavy lifting.

    Built by Arnold Holstein, stills don't get any better than these and having the column on top of the pot is the exact design that Humdinger deems best for making outstanding gin.

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    The Refiner 50L

    Taking recipes from testing to your glass takes patience, and that's where this still excels.

    With flexibility and opportunity at the forefront of its design (and for those with a thirst for engineering as well as gin) our refiner features a 50L copper pot, a 3-plate column, a generous botanical basket and a few secret modifications, providing limitless possibilities for the art of distillation.

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    The Developer 3L

    Every idea needs testing, and that’s where our baby still comes in.

    Our hand-made 3L copper still from Portugal is where every Humdinger recipe started as an idea, before being fine-tuned and graduating onto our larger stills. There is a unique feeling of anticipation each time we pull this still off the shelf and once again bring it to life.

Humdinger NZ Made Gin Distillery
Humdinger NZ Made Gin Distillery

Proudly Boutique

Sited in the heart of Geraldine in the ‘old Morrison’s Garage’, the Humdinger Gin distillery has seen it’s fair share of history.

A century’s worth of exposed brick, weathered concrete and steel beams could tell some tall tales, while a large copper still gleams in the sunlight, reddening to a warm patina with the latest run of gin, and beginning the latest round of story-telling.

Boasting a raw connection with nature and home to artisans, artists and adventurers alike, Geraldine might just be the best little town in the world for creativity and creating. Less than two hours from Christchurch, Geraldine has a quaint exterior but a vibrant soul, much like Humdinger Gin!

Quality Process

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    Maceration

    Our botanicals are precisely weighed and steeped in an alcohol and water fusion for a day and a night, enticing the flavours and aromas in preparation for distillation. The result is the perfect bathtub gin, a discerning tea-like liquid and a far cry from the Prohibition moonshiners and their famously foul illicit bathtub hooch!

    Clearly we’re not bootleggers! Instead, our macerated botanicals are a quality controlled solution of enticing aromas and favourable flavours, a vegan-friendly product of sugar cane alcohol that provides an exquisite mouthfeel and an open slate for experimentation.

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    Distillation

    Most mornings, at around 8 o’clock, our copper stills crank up and get to work. Loaded with our bathtub gin, the stills generate the full-bodied and robust gin that Humdinger is renowned for, while the unique and conscious designs ensure balance and proportion.

    Ours is a six-hour distillation, one of continuous monitoring that takes generous heads and tails cuts, leaving only a heart of the highest quality that will be rested and mellowed before progressing to bottling. We’ll never bottle early, always choosing quality over convenience.

  • Humdinger NZ Pinot Noir Barrel Aged Gin Labelling
    Humdinger NZ Pinot Noir Barrel Aged Gin Labelling

    Bottling

    At Humdinger, we’re not into chill-filtering. We’ve carefully added beautifully balanced flavours to each bottle so why would we want to filter them away?! Instead, you’ll find a Humdinger Gin is perfectly clear at room temperature and likely to louche (fancy pants industry talk for cloud) in the freezer.

Natures Finest

A quality gin doesn’t happen by accident and quality botanicals are a key element in a Humdinger Gin.

Our recipes are secret, kept close to our hearts and the result of endless trialling, testing and tasting. It’s just as well we enjoy a tipple or two as we continue to refine and tweak, ensuring each batch stands up to our rigorous quality control standards.