Papa Salt Gin, which was launched in May last year by Margot Robbie, her husband Tom Ackerley and friends Josey McNamara, Regan Riskas and Charlie Maas, is proving hugely popular with Australian consumers, with sales being quadruple initial estimates.
The gin was five years in the making and champions native Australian botanicals, including roasted wattleseed, pink peppercorn, wax flower, cardamon, ginger, orange and lemon peel and there is a little minerality from Oyster shell – juniper is the only Papa Salt ingredient not sourced from Australia.
Having taken so long for the founders to be working on the gin and getting the recipe right, CEO Maas told The Shout it was great to see Australians engaging with the gin as well.
“Any day now we’ll surpass 5,000 cases sold. That’s more than quadruple what we originally planned for our initial 12 months of sales, and includes three or four months when we were out of stock after the initial launch.
“We’re thrilled by the demand for Papa Salt – we knew we liked it, but it’s amazing to see so many Australians agree. A humongous thank you to all the bars, restaurants, and retailers who have served and stocked Papa Salt in the last 12 months.”
And it is not only consumers who are recognising the quality of Papa Salt Gin, competition judges are also recognising it, with the gin picking up a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Maas said: “Winning a Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition is a tremendous honour. Quite simply, that’s the biggest international stage for spirits. All the credit goes to our distilling team who continue to produce one of the world’s most delicious, intriguing gins.”
A common theme is that Papa Salt is a savoury gin, they did not want to create anything too floral, and that it is a versatile gin. They strongly believe that anyone who tastes it is going to want it on their back bar or on their shop shelf.
“We’ve had a lot of bartender mates play around with it and it does an incredible job of supporting and enhancing other flavours without ever overpowering them,” the founders said.
Looking ahead, Maas told The Shout the team is looking to keep its momentum growing and that there are big plans for the summer.
“We are so excited for next summer; we’re looking forward to some massive events and working hard on new pack sizes,” Maas said.
“Our goal is to make Papa Salt a summer staple across Australia, and we’ve been thinking a lot about how we can make theproduct more accessible to consumers. I really wish I could tell you more, but for now I have to be a bit coy. We’re also launching in the UK this year and are getting ready and excited for this.”
Papa Salt Gin is available for on- and off-premise venues through Iconic Beverages.