Australia’s first dedicated mid-strength distillery, East Pole, has launched with two gins – Classic Dry and Pink Grapefruit.

Crafted in Melbourne, each spirit captures the intensity, mouth-feel and taste profile of a full-strength gin, but with only 22.3% ABV.

While the industry has seen a shift to drinking in moderation, gin is experiencing incredible growth, particularly from local
producers, and category innovation is creating more gin occasions for consumers to enjoy.

Founder and CEO of East Pole Distillery Dylan Alexander said: “Like most, I enjoy having a few drinks from time to time but,
as life got busier I struggled to find drinks that matched my lifestyle.

“We’ve seen the moderation trend grow, but to me it feels really all or nothing. Why drink 11 months of the year and then
stop cold turkey? What if we just looked to moderate the everyday?”

Preliminary consumer research revealed that 79% of people would find a full-flavoured gin with less alcohol highly appealing and so the idea to create East Pole became a reality.

“East Pole is for those who are ready to embrace moderation with a balanced perspective. It’s not high-alc and it’s not low-
alc, it’s a mid-way point between ‘all or nothing’,” Alexander said.

However, he admits that making a full-flavoured, mid-strength gin was a lot harder than he originally thought.

“Our major challenge was achieving the flavour profile we wanted with just half the alcohol. It needed to taste like
regular gin, not just a watered down version.”

Alexander said that most people would think that to make a mid- strength gin, you would create a more diluted distillate.

“The trouble with that approach is that it would taste just like that, watered down and similar to pouring a half shot of gin –
pretty bland and pretty boring.

“The last 18 months has seen the team develop multiple recipes, methodologies and countless combinations to get
the full-flavour taste profile of East Pole’s mid-strength gin just right.”

Once the East Pole team mastered the method for its Classic Dry Gin, featuring the telltale hit of juniper, liquorice root to
give texture and whole lemons to give it that citrus lift, the team moved on to expanding the range.

“East Pole’s Pink Grapefruit Gin is distilled with pink grapefruit, strawberry gum and a hint of sea salt for a perfectly balanced flavour with a touch of pink,” Alexander said.

East Pole’s Classic Dry Gin and Pink Grapefruit Gin are currently being sold at on and off-premise venues across Victoria and NSW.

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