Redcliffe welcomes first micro distillery

Three friends have banded together to open Redcliffe’s first micro distillery.

Peninsula Distilling is hoping to launch on Mother’s Day weekend after three years in the making.

Head distiller Arnold Keuker and business partners Carlos Ortega and Pei-Onn Lee worked hard to get to where they are today.

“I’ve been playing around as a home distiller for about five years,” Arnold says.

The rum, gin and vodka distillery received its license to manufacture and store alcohol in February last year and is hoping to get its Queensland liquor license before launching in May.

With their third partner based in Sydney, Arnold and Carlos will primarily run the business, and they aim to support locals as much as possible.

“All of our products are sourced locally, as much as we can, including some of our botanicals…” Carlos says.

“We’re trying to be a local identity, like our stills and our barrels… which were all made 700m away. The electrician, the plumber, they’re all local guys,” Arnold says.

Being environmentally friendly is also important to the trio.

“We’ve got two local farmers in the Moreton Bay area that will take (our rum) waste from us and use it to feed their cattle,” Arnold says.

“And we’re trying to find someone to take our waste from our gin and vodka production…And then our spent botanicals, which would be ideal for a pig farm.”

The distillery will also have solar panels installed, ensuring the operation won’t drain too much power from the grid.

Inspired by the beauty of the Redcliffe Peninsula, the distillery’s branding will offer a unique touch.

“The gins will be called Humpybong Gin, the vodkas will be called Hornibrook Vodka, and our rums – if we can get the name registered – will be called Moreton Rum,” Arnold explains.

“…Because we’re using local names, we’re going to put a QR code on the back…and people can go and read about that particular story.”

Whether it’s Humpybong Creek, Hornibrook Bridge or Moreton Bay shipwrecks, Arnold and Carlos hope to educate locals and tourists about Redcliffe’s history.

They have big dreams for the future and hope to sell special blends across the Peninsula and offer an ‘order online’ feature for pick-up at their cellar door.

Peninsula Distilling is at 2/293 Macdonnell Rd, Clontarf.

For more information, visit the website. 

Check out the photos of the distillery below

Photos by Dominika Lis