Boutique distilleries are making their mark across the nation. Tash Faulkhead is at the helm of one of them. She chats to Teagan Bell about the serendipitous job opportunity and why she loves what she does.
IN the sixteenth century, King William III taxed French cognac and wine in an attempt to weaken France’s economy.
Unable to afford the price of their preferred liquor, the people of the United Kingdom went on a distilling-free-for all, with gin becoming the spirit of choice, loved for its cheap price and supposed medicinal properties.
With 10 million gallons of the stuff distilled in London each year, and an average of one litre consumed per person per week, the drunk nation was rendered impotent and sterile, with the death rate in the capital far exceeding the number of births. And so was coined the term “mother’s ruin”.
But today gin carries a very different meaning, especially for Tash Faulkhead, who has made producing the spirit her career.
A distiller at Mildura-based distillery and “gin-porium” Fossey’s, the proud mother of three is among a handful of female distillers across the nation who are making their mark on the industry and upending outdated stereotypes about women and liquor.
It wasn’t a career she had planned for though, rather it was one that found her.
After couch surfing in London and working at an antique store in the fashionable Soho district, Tash relocated back to Mildura where she landed a job at Lindeman’s Wines.
“I did a vintage there in the tank farm and stayed on after that for eight years while I got engaged, married and had the first of my children,” she says.
From there, her passion for food and local produce took her to Henderson College where she taught Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden cooking program two days a week – a job she adored but was a few hours short of what she needed.
“So I was looking for extra work and at the time Steve (Timmis) was kicking this off and I think he realised that if he didn’t have someone he could teach he would be stuck here when he has other things to do,” she says.
“So he asked me if I’d like to come in one day a week and make gin.”
Two years on, she laughs as she recalls her introduction to the distilling process.
“It was mind-blowing,” she says.
“I never thought I’d get it but now I sit back and go ‘oh, it’s really quite simple’.”
And as she casually explains each step of the process, it seems as easy as making a pot of tea.
But there’s nothing trivial about the gin she produces, with many of the flavours she and Steve have created regularly snagging awards at national competitions.
And while she’s proud to play a vital role in Fossey’s establishing itself among an ever-growing scene of boutique distilleries, she says gin is more than just an embellishment on her resume.
“For me, gin means locally-grown produce, liaising with people that grow and produce the beautiful ingredients we are able to use and supporting Sunraysia and supporting our growers,” she says.
“I’m really lucky because I feel like this job covers all the things that I’m interested in and I feel like I’ve always missed the work I did at Lindeman’s in wine processing and this touches on that a bit.
“It touches on hospitality too.
“A lot of my job is talking to visitors in the area, talking about our great region and the beautiful food we have here so I do feel really lucky because it touches on all those things I feel passionate about and it doesn’t actually feel like a job.”
And though she strongly encourages other women to become part of the industry, there are qualities she believes aspiring distillers require.
“You really do need to enjoy alcohol,” she laughs.
“You’ve got to feel passion for creative jobs like that. Otherwise things just don’t click.
“And I do love food. I don’t think I’d love this job as much if I didn’t, and it definitely helps me as I’m always keeping an eye out for other flavours we can have a go at.”
