How it Started

It started during the covid lockdown in April 2020. Stuck at home like everyone else, Scott Forsythe stumbled across a distilling video and got curious. What followed was months of research, home distilling, and 19 attempts to get a gin right. When he finally did, it was obvious it was worth sharing beyond his kitchen.

5 Mile Distilling opened its doors commercially on 17 April 2022, becoming Taupō's first commercial distillery.

Named After a Bay

Our name comes from 5 Mile Bay on the eastern shore of Lake Taupō. A place associated with good company, afternoons, and the kind of moments worth holding onto. That idea of sharing good times is part of everything we make and do.

Stepping Into the Spotlight

We entered our Original Gin into the 2022 New Zealand Spirits Awards not expecting much, just feedback from people who knew what they were talking about. It won gold and took out the trophy for Best Overall London Dry Gin. We didn't see that coming.

Since then the range has grown to five spirits and 28 medals. The awards are a bonus. Making spirits worth sharing is the goal.

More than a Distillery

When we started, the goal was simple: make great spirits. But as the business grew, so did our thinking about what it could be.

We now run on a simple philosophy: People, Planet, and profit. We write it this way on purpose. People and Planet are the priority; profit is a result, not the goal. Every spirit we make supports a local community cause. That's not marketing. It's how we do business.