Mac and Eileen Mackenzie, my grandparents, were a dynamic duo who made a significant contribution to the entertainment industry in Geelong, Victoria. From 1955 to 1984, they managed Geelong's first drive-in, located in Moolap.
Mac had a rich history managing cinemas, while Eileen was the mastermind behind the catering that made the drive-in experience exceptional. They worked tirelessly to bring Hollywood glamour to Geelong, with Mac always sporting a crisp suit and Eileen impeccably dressed in heels and looking like a Hollywood star herself.
Even years later, I never saw my grandmother look any different from those days. Her smile always lit up a room, and her laughter could be heard from miles away. As the catering manager of the drive-in, Eileen took her role seriously and served incredible food at every show. The drive-in catered to 544 cars, and attendants delivered food to each one of them.
Eileen's food was so exceptional that by 1955, most of Australia was enjoying the MacKenzie family pudding, which won her a gold medal at the Melbourne Royal Show. The pudding recipe was so popular that one of the judges, an editor at Australian Women's Weekly magazine, asked Eileen to share her recipe with the country, so a slightly edited version was printed in their magazine and ran for six consecutive years.
As the inheritor of Eileen’s previously hidden recipe, our family grew impatient, and after a fifteen-year lack of Eileen’s Christmas pudding I was asked to take on the annual responsibility. One look at the two-page recipe written in very old cursive revealed a myriad of ingredients, prepared for three days, then left to sit for a further eight to twelve months. I popped it back in the envelope along with the small bag containing nine sixpence (yes, one was missing from a minor mishap in the late forties when my father as a young boy learnt a quick lesson on enjoying your food and not wolfing it down).
Content with the fact that I was busy running a business and no one could make Eileen’s Christmas pudding like her, I went to bed. The next morning when I woke, I saw the envelope and a feeling of guilt came over me, pretty much at the same time a feeling of “oooh, this would make a bloody great gin!”
That afternoon I took Eileen's original recipe and started creating a delicious full-flavoured gin. In hindsight, the pudding was a far easier task. Our Eileen’s Christmas Pud gin takes over eight months to create. From ageing the base gin in an Italian oak barrel creating an almost brandy like flavour, to the added cherry and vanilla liqueurs that adorned Eileen’s Christmas pudding in the form of a rich custard and a tangy cherry compote.
Eileen’s Christmas Gin is made with a blend of unique botanicals that give it a distinct flavour profile. The gin is infused with all her Christmas pudding ingredients, including raisins, currants, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mixed spices. The addition of juniper gives the gin its distinct character, with the aroma of the pine needles complementing the other ingredients. The resulting Christmas gin has a rich, warm flavour that is perfect for the festive season and onwards through to winter. Eileen’s Christmas Pud gin tastes like liquid pudding.
Our Christmas Gin is not just popular in Australia, it has also received recognition on the international stage. In 2023, the gin won a silver medal at the London Spirits Competition. This is a significant achievement for Little Juniper, as the competition is one of the most prestigious in the world. The fact that Eileen's Christmas Gin was recognised by the competition is a testament to Eileen’s original recipe, the quality of the gin, and the care that went into its creation.
Family means everything to us, and we are proud to release the limited Eileen's Christmas Pud Gin for the first time in 2022. Eileen's beautiful smile continues to live on in this exceptional gin and it is a perfect example of our commitment to quality. Our limited Christmas gin is made in a small batch once a year. Christmas pudding in a bottle that keeps her legacy alive.
Cheers,
Stu
Click here for more information and serving suggestions.
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At little Juniper, we source not only sustainable and organic products to produce our award-winning gin, but just as importantly, the packaging that our delicious liquids come in.
One of our favourite parts of Little Juniper’s packaging is our sustainable timber stopper and DIAM cork.
DIAM participates in the reforestation of cork oak trees in Spain and France. Their development of cork oak forests also contributes to the protection of the natural environment and its biodiversity. Their R&D efforts have created natural products that are environmentally friendly, including the development of technologies to create a solvent and chemical-free process.
DIAM has received 4-star Biobased certification, the highest rating possible due to the natural and organic origins of their cork. This dedication to environmentally friendly practices also flows on to their production processes, such as their Spanish site, where 100% of the electricity consumed is obtained via renewable origins.
So, what does this mean for you? Simply put, you can be assured that Little Juniper is ensuring that our spirits that you enjoy, as well as the packaging that they live in, are of the highest standards. Providing you with a guilt-free purchase, and more importantly, for us to know that we are producing an environmentally friendly and truly sustainable spirit, for now, and generations to come.
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It has been an incredible 12 months on shelves in bottles shops, bars, hotels, pubs, clubs, and just as important on peoples dining tables and home bars. Sticking to our guns in what we believe in, sustainability in our products, and packaging, helps us sleep at night. Not to mention making a product with certified organic ingredients and winning seven international awards at the same time.
To be honest, none of these things compare to the incredible friends we have made in that time. Customers, suppliers, people in government and councils, and fellow distillers, who in another industry would be called competitors. The support and love we have received have been life-changing.
While it has been an incredible journey, it has also been a challenging one. Covid has been tough on our customers and suppliers and it has had a knock-on effect throughout the economy as we have all seen.
Thank you all for your kindness and help, not only in the past twelve months but the last two years. Let's hope the future has a little more positivity for all of us.
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Our Signature Gin is made in the picturesque foothills of Adelaide using 21 organic, carefully balanced botanicals. The gin’s rich and complex mouthfeel has caught the attention of some of the world’s finest palates.
Little Juniper’s story began when Stuart fell in love with the transparent elixir that is gin, at age 14 when he had his first sip with his mother. His godfather worked for Penfolds and Hardys and always told stories about his winemaking days whenever he brought wines over for the family to enjoy.
One night something happened that sparked Stuart’s curiosity. He saw his godfather fill up an empty barrel sitting on the kitchen counter with all sorts of concoctions. After years of going unnoticed and untouched, Stuart tried some of the port from the barrel, which turned out to be one of the best ports he has tasted. It inspired him to start his own distillery one day.
Stuart’s love for gin blossomed at the local pub when the bartender would stock up on gins from around the world, as the barman appreciated his rare love for the spirit. Even before making handcrafted, high-quality gin, Stuart was home-brewing beer and ginger beer that friends and family loved.
A 25-year career in TV, films and visual effects motivated Stuart to start his own media business in 2019. But as the Covid pandemic hit and changed the way the world operates, Stuart quickly adapted to the change and accelerated his plans to open his distillery. His decades of research into distillation and planning proved useful when he started Little Juniper Distilling.
At Little Juniper, we use sustainable and innovative practices to make high-quality spirits. We strive to have the smallest footprint with our processes to have minimum impact on the environment.
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