A top›class German›made still will help boost production at Geraldine’s Humdinger Gin.
The 30›year›old still has been installed in the Humdinger distillery, located in what was once a ‘‘bustling garage workshop’’.
Owner Andrew Lewis said the newly installed still was made by Arnold Holstein, one of the world’s top still makers.
It had been built in Germany 30 years ago and was imported by a New Zealand winery, which was bought by wine company Georges Michel.
Mr Lewis said Georges Michel made a drop similar to cognac and a ‘‘banging’’ grappa.
The still was later sold to a distillery, but was never used.
Because of the amount of time spent in storage, all the valves and seals needed replacing.
A few tweaks had to be made to fit it into the Geraldine distillery and bring it up to safety regulations — such as converting the heating system from a gas burner to electric elements — but all the modifications worked ‘‘perfectly’’ and the still ‘‘ran like a dream from the first time it was switched on’’, Mr Lewis said.
While the copper got thinner every time it distilled a batch, Mr Lewis said it was ‘‘extremely well made, with no corners cut, so there is still plenty of life left’’.
It was a huge difference from their first still, which had been a wedding present for Mr Lewis and wife Saskia from their family and friends.
Mr Lewis felt it was not just about the bigger still ‘‘but about stepping the whole business up to a new level’’ as the new still would require more bottles, ingredients, and sales.
They have recently acquired Kahurangi Estate as a distributor.
He said to have a distributor, the distillery had to prove they had ‘‘a quality product and sufficient capacity’’.
He had not noticed any drop in sales because of Dry July.
‘‘We are selling more dry gin, but I think that is just a coincidence.’’