Until now anyone producing gin had been forced to source their botanicals from overseas, undoing the provenance story about a completely locally made, locally grown product.
A Ministry for Business, Innovation and Enterprise project has identified alcoholic spirits production as a value-added sector, with potential to exhibit export-focused growth.
As a sector it has been enjoying 10 per cent year-on-year growth, albeit off a small base.
New Zealand now has 20 gin manufacturers wanting to make their product "100% New Zealand", but forced to import their angelica, liquorice root and coriander seeds.
Today gin makers are not alone, as a wide variety of distillers are experimenting with different spirits as varied as whiskey or absinthe.
Distillers utilise New Zealand-sourced aromatics if possible – botanicals such as oris root in Hawke's Bay and coriander in Wairarapa. Angelica is well-suited to Taranaki's climate, and juniper grows from Kaitaia to Bluff.
Juniper is at the heart of a good gin, and the recent NZ Juniper Hunt had garden club members, land owners, amateur botanists and enthusiasts all hunting through gardens and parks looking for juniper samples.
They were then sent to Massey University as part of the project to identify what it is that makes New Zealand juniper unique, and its value in helping beverage makers keep their Kiwi brew 100 per cent New Zealand.
Eve Kawana-Brown, Massey University's head of Taranaki business development said so far only 24 samples were received from around the country.
"But the next step is for Massey researchers to identify the genetics of those samples and see what, if anything, makes them distinct from other juniper around the world. The opportunity is there to identify and protect the provenance of New Zealand varieties, along with those that may perform best as ingredients".
In a world where indigenous claim to varieties was becoming more prominent, protecting local varieties as they are identified was even more important said Kawana-Brown.
Recent moves by the government to back protection of mānuka honey claims in offshore markets was a high-profile example of that.
Australian honey producers have moved to try and claim mānuka as their own product, leaving New Zealand mānuka producers to fight a rear guard action against them, one that has succeeded in the United Kingdom.
So far Taranaki gin company Juno has led the charge on identifying and utilising locally grown aromatics.
The award-winning company, along with Reefton Distilling, has worked on the project supported through Venture Taranaki's Tapuae Roa project.
The project aimed to identify new food and fibre opportunities in the dairy-fossil fuel focused region's economy.
Its pertinence has only grown since the government announced plans to phase out hydrocarbon exploration in the region by 2030.
"What we have learnt about properties so far is that New Zealand juniper has a different volatile oils profile to overseas juniper, in terms of its scents and tastes – this could mean it may be possible to use fresh juniper, as opposed to the dry juniper many distillers use now" said Kawana-Brown.
Gin had to legally contain 50 per cent juniper as its main botanical flavouring.
Distillers have already enjoyed the support of a Taranaki nursery to propagate the varieties of juniper identified, and farmers have shown an interest in growing it as a crop also used as a shelter belt.
Expectations are Taranaki growers and land owners are on the cusp of identifying a range of exciting, innovative opportunities to help the region adjust to the move away from oil exploration, and to adapt to growing environmental demands on farming.
"We can see the opportunities, but it will be important to manage how we encourage them, and avoid a 'boom-bust' type scenario said Kawana-Brown.
