Dunedin Craft Distillers has promoted the use of botanical spirits salvaged from bakery products, turning bread to bottle.
Co-founded by Sue Stockwell and Jenny McDonald, Dunedin Craft Distillers is the first distillery in New Zealand and one of only a handful worldwide to produce botanical spirits from surplus bakery products that would otherwise go to landfill.
Stockwell has spent the majority of her long career striving for excellence in the food service offered in student halls of residence. She has also spent years teaching food service management at the University of Otago, giving her an extensive background in the sector.
At the same time, McDonald graduated in medicine and completed a PhD in computer science. She has worked in video production, digital map making, and educational technology and spent nearly 20 years trying to be a good academic.
However, both women share a can-do attitude and hate anything going to waste.
The business idea for Dunedin Craft Distillers came about in 2019 following a discussion among friends about how much bakery waste goes to the local landfill each year. COVID-19 provided an opportunity to evaluate the concept, and the duo started trading in early 2021.
Initially, they could only process 25 kg of bakery surplus at a time, but they have since increased production from around 10L of finished spirits per batch to around 100L.
The growth in the craft spirits sector, especially gin, provided a ready market for Dunedin Craft Distillers’ upcycled alcohol, but the duo soon realised that the market had become increasingly crowded.
“It is challenging to profit even without the added complexity of producing your alcohol. Most distillers avoid this and buy industrially manufactured ethanol and then rectify it for white spirits, liqueurs, etc,” said Stockwell and McDonald.
“We enter one or two of our spirits each year into international competitions to verify that our upcycled products can hold their own against the competition. Gold at the London Spirits Competition for our Bay Gin, Silver in London, and Singapore for our Dunedin Dry are highlights.”
Dunedin Craft Distillers offers a small range of spirits and liqueurs. All products have been made from their unique base alcohol, brewed and distilled in-house from surplus bakery products.
Currently, they process up to 200 kg of local bakery waste each week and collaborate with the local food rescue service, Kiwi Harvest, to ensure they don't take surplus that can be better used as food.
“We'd love to see more distillers take up the challenge of producing spirits from food waste. Alcohol is nice to have, but it's not necessary for life. We've demonstrated that premium spirits can be produced from scratch from bakery waste.”
They also offer 'Bread to Bottle' tours and have recently introduced workshops where visitors can distill their botanical spirit using bread-based alcohol.
Dunedin Craft Distillers will launch a distinct Dunedin spirit this year, crafted from scratch in the Otago Harbour Basin premises.
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