Sean Hughes says they have already sold more than 200 bottles of the Hawke’s Bay Cyclone Recovery Gin. Photo / Warren Buckland
Sean Hughes says they have already sold more than 200 bottles of the Hawke’s Bay Cyclone Recovery Gin. Photo / Warren Buckland
Wanting to do their part - and feeling the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle as a small business - the National Distillery Company (NDC) did what they do best and made a gin.
Napier-based gin distillery NDC teamed up with Thieving Acorn, Strokers and Stems and Paper to create a product they said they could support the whole of Hawke’s Bay.
Early after the cyclone, the Thieving Acorn collective had success and popularity with its cyclone relief t-shirts they created to help raise funds for certain areas of Hawke’s Bay hit by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Founder of Theiving Acorn Sean Hughes works at NDC as a distiller and went to his boss and NDC co-founder Blair Nicholl and suggested they team up to make a relief gin.
Nicholl said, “As we all know, small businesses like us have had a rough time during these past few weeks. But amidst all of the challenges, we knew we wanted to do something to help those who have been impacted even more than us.”
The National Distillery Company, although struggling as a small business after Cyclone Gabrielle, created a Hawke’s Bay Cyclone Recovery Gin to help those worse off. Photo / Warren Buckland
The team at NDC got straight to work. Local artists Stems & Paper designed a beautiful label, Strokers donated t-shirts, and Saverglass, Columbit, Font Design, Label and Litho, Wilsigns and Thieving Acorn helped with everything else NDC needed.
“We’re so grateful for the support we’ve received so far, and we’re hoping to find even more collaborators in the coming weeks so we can make this an ongoing initiative,” Nicholl said.
NDC says the drink has traditional pine and citrus notes balanced with sweet, structured tones of orris and angelica root.
The NDC co-founder explained with the lime season just kicking off in the bay, the distillery had gone with a classic London dry, juicy lemon and lime-forward gin to celebrate growers across the region.
Sean Hughes from Thieving Acorn, left, Ben Adams from Stroker’s screen printing and Blair Nicholl from the National Distillery Company showing off the cyclone relief t-shirts and a possible future Hawke’s Bay Gin. Photo / Paul Taylor
Eighty per cent of profits from the Hawke’s Bay Recovery Gin will be donated directly to the Hawke’s Bay Foundation while Nicholl said, “20 per cent will help will help us keep our own business afloat during these challenging times.”
“We’re committed to making a real difference in our community, and we know that every little bit counts,” he added.
Along with the Hawke’s Bay Cyclone Recovery Gin, the team is also producing stickers and t-shirts for those who want to support the cause but do not drink.
If you’re looking to support Hawke’s Bay cyclone recovery and want a nice bottle of gin, get in quickly as bottles may be limited.
Order the Hawke’s Bay Recovery Gin and t-shirt at the NDC website.
