A sixth-generation farmer from Victoria's Gippsland region is venturing into the world of distilling. Ross Shaw, who grows crops and raises livestock on his family’s property, has recently started producing spirits. He aims to add value to the grains grown on his farm, which primarily go to the feed market due to a lack of local facilities for malt or flour-grade grain. "We grow excellent grain here in Gippsland, but most of it goes into the feed market because we don't have a receival for malt or flour-grade grain," Shaw explained. "I wanted to add value to our crops, so I decided to open a distillery."

Over the past two years, Shaw has immersed himself in distilling, experimenting with unique crops such as red wheat and sugar beets. "We had a crop of red wheat and thought, 'Why not turn it into vodka?'" he said. After several trials, he developed a recipe that yields a vodka with a pleasant graininess and honeycomb sweetness.

Shaw's work with sugar beets is particularly significant, as the local town of Maffra has historical ties to the sugar beet industry. "Given you can make alcohol from anything with a sugar or starch source, we took that historic crop and decided to make a sugar beet spirit," he said. He described the flavor as earthy, suggesting it pairs well with spicy margaritas or ginger beer and lime juice.

However, the journey to perfect his beet spirit was not without challenges. Shaw faced difficulties sourcing seeds, ultimately importing them from Europe. He also lacked the necessary equipment, leading to a labor-intensive hand-harvesting process. "It was tough to find seed, so we imported some from Europe, grew the beets and workshopped ways to get the sugar out of them," he said. "But we've finally found a process that works."

Shaw emphasized the patience required in distilling, particularly for whisky. "You need about three years to make a bottle of whisky: one year to grow the grain and then at least two years to age it," he noted. In contrast, clear spirits can be brought to market more quickly.

Sebastian Costello, an industry development officer with Spirits Victoria Association, highlighted a growing trend among distillers to explore new ingredients. "This new generation of craft distillers want to give people a sense of place, so you can almost taste different parts of Australia," he said. He mentioned that some distillers are using rye from the Mallee region, while others experiment with various crops suitable for malting and distilling.

For Shaw, the distilling process has been a fulfilling challenge. "I didn't know all the science behind it, but just took my passion and did plenty of experimenting," he said. He noted the collaborative nature of the Australian distilling community, which has allowed him to connect with others across the country for support.

Initially, Shaw's family was hesitant about his distilling venture, but they have since become involved. "Now everyone is involved, including my dad, who loves helping me malt the barley," he said.

Looking ahead, Shaw plans to expand his distilling operations. "We're definitely scaling up our whisky production by adding equipment and slowly perfecting our process," he stated. Currently, he has about 400 bottles each of red wheat vodka and sugar beet spirit available. He expressed a desire to increase production if market demand rises.

Costello noted that Australian consumers are increasingly seeking new flavors. "The trend is people drinking less but with more variety," he said. "And they want to know the story behind each bottle."