The Best Distilleries in Sydney
Sydney is home to a handful of distilleries making some of the best booze in the country. And while the scene is mostly concerned with gin (spearheaded by the likes of Archie Rose and Poor Toms), whiskies and other dark spirits are present and accounted for. These spots are also great bars in their own right, which means you can enjoy your dram – which will no doubt star in a few banging cocktails – right where it was made.
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Ester Spirits
The acclaimed gin brand’s warehouse home feels more like an artist’s studio than a distillery. Packed with personality, it’s a place of perfect Negronis, gin-friendly snacks and curiosities by local designers.
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Poor Toms Gin Hall
Even though this place is styled after a church, there’s nothing reverent about the approach here. Cocktails are fun, at times unusual, and highlight the seasonal gins coming out of the beautiful German copper still out back.
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Archie Rose Distilling Co
When it opened almost a decade ago, Archie Rose was Sydney’s first new distillery since the 1850s. Now it’s one of the biggest in the country, with cocktails and flights showcasing an endless rotation of gins, vodkas and whiskies.
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Crooked Tune Distillery
The smallest distillery in town is an Americana-filled bunker solely devoted to traditional American spirits. It also doubles as a speakeasy – with killer cocktails like spicy peach Margaritas and smooth Sazeracs.
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Four Pillars Laboratory
This Crown Street gin hub has a still making small-batch spirits just for Sydney, and a shop selling gin and gin-related goods. To find Eileen’s Bar, look out for the discreet doorway and ascend the staircase.
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Unexpected Guest
This roving gin bar started life inside a 1972 Kombi van. These days it’s pouring classic cocktails (with quirks) inside a former mechanic’s workshop. Snacks include “dips and bickies” and Basque cheesecakes doused in raspberry coulis.
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Brix Distillers
Inside a former storage space used by St Mary’s Cathedral is Sydney’s best (and only) dedicated rum distillery. Settle in for a tasting flight, and South American-inspired eats like tacos and croquetas.
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Manly Spirits Co.
Location is everything for this artisan distillery. Its spirits are infused with marine botanicals foraged from the surrounding coast, resulting in flavours unique to Sydney's northern beaches.
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Young Henrys Brewery
The rowdy HQ for one of Sydney's most treasured breweries also serves a fine G&T starring its own Noble Cut gin, a “brewers gin” distilled with beer hops just metres from the bar.
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Moonshiner Gin
Open to the public one day a week, this 20-seat distillery and bar names its spirits after streets in the inner west. Drop in for cocktails like the cherry gin martini, spiked with chocolate bitters and giving big Cherry Ripe vibes.
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Hickson House Distilling Co
Take a distillery tour, sip cocktails beneath the chandeliers, and eat Kangaroo tartare with Vegemite toast at this grand palace of Aussie gin. It’s set within a 100-year-old brick warehouse in the heritage heart of The Rocks.
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Kings Cross Distillery
Inside a former adult bookstore, this female-led distillery makes gin, whisky and vodka that you can store in your own personal “spirit locker” between visits. To eat, it’s Mediterranean snacks and share plates.
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Bondi Liquor Co.
Bondi’s first operating distillery is just moments from the beach, halfway up the hill on the corner of O’Brien and Hall streets. It’s a breezy, Bondi-style space where you can try the distillery’s range of vibrant, botanical-packed gins.
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Seadrift Distillery
The country’s first alcohol-free distillery and “So-Bar” is set within a spacious warehouse on Sydney’s northern beaches. Try the distillery’s beach-inspired zero-proof gin in a lively cocktail, or choose from a range of other local and international booze-free drinks.
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Hills Distilling Co
Hit the area’s first locally run distillery for a tour and a gin-making masterclass (with Italian snacks), or stop by during cellar door hours for cocktails and dumplings.
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