Whanganui friends and business owners create unique Rēwena Gin

George Jackson (left) and Aaron Chadwick are keen to make sure their new gin is not a one-off. Photo / Mike Tweed

Two longtime friends and business owners have collaborated on a one-of-a-kind gin with a special whānau connection - and there is enough bread to ensure it is not a one-off.

Whanganui residents George Jackson (Jackson’s Rēwena Bread) and Aaron Chadwick (Tahu Gin) created Rēwena Gin, with Chadwick tweaking a London Dry recipe and adding the bread to the gin for about 24 hours.

He said as a drink, the gin had “a little bit of heat” to start with before mellowing out quite a bit.

“A lot of people use bread to create alcohol but no one is using rēwena as a flavour,” he said.

“During the process, I was going backwards and forwards with the bro [Jackson] to have little tastes and getting the ‘Oh yeah’ or ‘Oh nah’.

“It needed to pay homage to the whakapapa behind this parāoa [bread], that was really important.”

Jackson, whose product was included in Unesco’s Breads of the Creative Cities project, said he was sure it was the only gin of its kind in the world because “who’s got that much rēwena to waste?”.

Previously, Vaughan Campbell of Good Bones Distilling had used it to make vodka.

Jackson was not keen on Rēwena Gin being a limited edition product.

“This ties in with my kaupapa too, because the bread that doesn’t sell can be saved for [Chadwick],” Jackson said.

“Every week is different. Sometimes you sell out and sometimes you’re left with heaps so you’re guessing all the time.

“When I get it wrong, the cuzzie over here benefits.”

Jackson said he was fascinated by the gin because it became cloudy when refrigerated.

“I don’t know of any other alcohol that does that.”

The “bug” for the bread - the potato starter that ferments and causes the bread to rise and gives it its flavour - comes from Jackson’s grandmother, Nanny Puggy.

Chadwick said Nanny Puggy brought up his father for a while.

“It’s more than a drink when there’s the connection of whānau.

“I remember eating that bread as a little kid and my aunties and uncles always would as well.”

He said as well as producing the gin, it was great to be able to talk to a friend about business because “it can be a lonely little hustle at times”.

“At the end of the day, it all comes down to this fella’s [Jackson] hard work.

“We’ve just come in at the end with a little bit of Māori ingenuity on the side.

“People love the story behind it and I think the story is probably more important than the gin itself.”

Chadwick said while it would not be a limited edition, there were no plans to mass-produce the new product.

“We see it a bit of a taonga. It’s special to us.”

There would be tasting sessions at Liquorland Whanganui and at Auckland Airport’s Koru Lounge, he said.

“Travellers from Whanganui see us in the Koru Lounge and it’s a ‘What are you guys doing here?’ kind of thing.

“Obviously, our roots are here and to be able to advocate for the city is awesome.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.