Animus Distillery

When the Animus team started out, it was waiting for its barrel-aged whisky to mature — but the four lads didn't sit idly around, twiddling thumbs and rolling each other across the plains in Kilmore. Instead, they decided to use their time wisely to create a gin. Or, as currently is the case, five vapour-pressed varieties of the stuff.

The Davidsonia Gin is its take on England's traditional sloe gin, but with a distinctly Australian flavour. Using native Davidsonia Pruriens — a tropical sour plum from the temperate regions of northern NSW and Queensland — the distillery has steeped the plums in their award-winning dry gin to create an intense and unique character.

The best part is that the distillery's cellar door also operates as a cocktail bar on Kyneton's main drag. It's open every night of the week — and it's only an hour away from the city on the V/Line.