The Event: Four Pillars Gin opens in Healesville

If there was one event guaranteed to bring Makers of Melbourne out of self imposed retirement, it was the launch party for the brand-new Four Pillars Gin distillery in Healesville.

Housed in a former timber yard, our mates at Four Pillars threw open the doors to their spacious new home on Monday 2nd of November, inviting a select group of media and friends to christen the space and sample delights from the latest edition to the family, 'Jude', the handsome copper still responsible for producing some of Melbourne's finest boutique spirits - named after co-owner Stuart Gregor's mother, 'Jude' is the big sister to 'Wilma', the original Four Pillars still who sat proudly in the company's first distillery in South Warrandyte. 

The Four Pillars Gin Distillery in Healesville - image courtesy of Kirsty Umback 

The new space tops off an impressive two year run for the Four Pillars team - the small-batch gin is now sold nationally through retailers like Dan Murphy's and can be found in numerous bars across the country.

Although Gregor and his business partners will be forever grateful for the use of what was essentially the Yarra Burn back-shed, this strategic move has seen the distillery establish itself smack bang in the middle of the Yarra Valley wine trail, capturing a lucrative market by offering up a fine selection of gin based cocktails and locally produced food, served up in the modern timber finished open-plan dining hall. 

Four Pillars Gin Distillery launch party - images courtesy of Kirsty Umback

The distillery will also play host to short courses and other gin appreciation programs, all designed to spread the Four Pillars word to both a national and international audience. The team has plans to bring in the occasional weekend food truck and will continue with their experimental ways of working, blending the traditional Juniper based spirit with a mixture of indigenous botanicals and incorporating the use of wine barrels into the ageing process. 

Four Pillars Gin launch party - image courtesy of Kirsty Umback 

Four Pillars Gin Distillery
2A Lilydale Road, Healesville 3777

(03) 5962 2791

Hours
Sun to Thu 10.30am–5.30pm
Fri & Sat 10.30am–9pm

The Event: Fell Premiere at Melbourne International Film Festival

With a plotline that revolves around the insular Victorian logging industry, Fell, the directorial debut from Kasimir Burgess, is a striking addition to this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival. 

No doubt it’s an attention-getting movie: a deft script is tightly wound by Kasimir and writing partner, Natasha Pincus, its focus one man’s journey through the grief of losing a child and his subsequent plans for revenge all set within the controversial framework of Australia’s logging industry.

It’s Makers good fortune to get up close and personal with Kasimir, along with producer Mary Minas, 2nd assistant camera Jensen Cope and actor Daniel Henshall, on a day trip to revisit some of the lush filming locations in the nearby Yarra Valley. With principle filming having taken place just beyond Warburton and its surrounds, we – along with the cast and crew – return to ground zero in an effort to gain insight in to the film and those behind it.

(L-R) 2nd assistant camera Jensen Cope, Director Kasimir Burgess, lead actor Daniel Henshall & inside man Brett Robin

Kasimir: “[The Yarra Valley] is a dramatic setting and a place where the continuing cycle of life and death is ever present. There are primal themes of rotting and regeneration happening over and over that reflects the nature of our story. That idea of a redemptive and necessary death.”

 Fell revolves around the characters of Thomas (Matt Nable), a sharp-suited city dweller whose daughter is killed after being hit by a logging truck. Logger Luke (Henshall) flees the scene of the crime, but is caught and faces jail time. Thomas retrains as a logger, infiltrating the close-knit community with the idea of getting revenge on the man who killed his daughter.

Though the plotline could read as melodramatic, Fell is a subtle and nuanced piece, brought to life in the skilled hands of Kasimir, whose background in short film has certainly shaped the way he approached his feature length debut. The dialogue is minimal; instead the film focuses on body language, the hypnotizing surrounds and sound to tell its dramatic story.

Kasimir: “The storyline was so emotionally epic and the setting in the logging industry and the violence that surrounds it helped to externalize a lot of what our characters were going through internally, in terms of trauma, loss and grief. Everything was elemental; from the sound of the actors breathing, we hear their heartbeats, we hear the wind. I’ve always listened to characters breath in film, in fact I may have an unhealthy obsession with it (laughter) it feels very expressive to me. ”

 Historically, the Australian film industry has excelled in production of films set in the bush (Picnic At Hanging Rock, The Man From Snowy River), and Fell is no exception to this rule. 

Boarding a mini bus bound for the Yarra Valley, the director explains to Makers how he found the principle setting for the film.

Kasimir: “My girlfriend suggested that I go and check out Warburton and I fell in love quite quickly. It was probably a year and a half before we started filming but I’d started to look for rather specific locations and angles. I brought Marden [Dean, Director of Photography] out there and we both became very excited. Most of our pre-production ended up happening in the car while we were driving around looking for locations.” 

Over a delicious lunch at Rochford winery, Kasimir and actor Daniel Henshall expand on their time spent with the local logging community. Kasimir explains that the crew spent the six months prior to filming getting to know the men who live and work around Warbuton,

Kasimir: “We had a hand opening some doors into the local community and it was a matter of observing and taking away details. I’d come back to Tash (Sic) with photos that I’d covertly taken and stories of this and that, that we ended up incorporating into the story to bring as much authenticity as we could to the world.”

 Daniel: “The actor logging crew also spent time out in the area where they fell trees. We got to know the loggers and gained a great insight as to who they are and where they come from, it was good fun.”    

Cast & crew answer questions at the MIFF screening

Fell had its world premier at the recent Sydney Film Festival, where it opened to excellent reviews. Much hype has also surrounded the groundbreaking decision by Minas and veteran Australian producer John Maynard to simultaneously stream the film for an online audience at the same time that it has broader release in Australian cinemas. 

 During the Sydney Film Festival, producer Maynard told the ABC Arts program, “the world premiere of Fell via the internet is a game-changer in a multi-screen world. It’s democratic, it’s inclusive and it’s about time.”

Fell is due for broader release this Thursday, 21st August.

Story: Janey Umback

Photos: Samantha Hogan

Interview: Cameron Mackenzie, Four Pillars Distillery

Cameron Mackenzie bares a striking resemblance to Heston Blumenthal. Physical similarities aside, it’s his unbridled passion for unusual ingredients, quality products and a flair for experimentation that wouldn’t go unnoticed in the kitchen of The Fat Duck.

“I haven’t used any liquid nitrogen yet” there’s an easy laughter after Makers hints at a comparison to the boutique gin distiller, after we take part in a gin appreciation course and tasting at Mackenzie’s recently established Four Pillars distillery in the Yarra Valley.

Cameron, along with his two partners Stuart Gregor and Matt Jones officially founded Four Pillars late last year with the aim of making a modern Australian gin, although the dream was a long time in the making. It was a quest undertaken after long time gin enthusiasts Mackenzie and Gregor both ordered G&Ts in a bar and were shocked to see a boutique brand of the alcohol topped up with tonic water from a post mix gun. 

Mackenzie: “We started to think about producing tonic waters, this rapidly shifted to gin. I spent the next 12 months researching everything I could find, from that initial tonic water conversation our journey has taken 3 and a half years and we launched our first batch in November of last year”

Mackenzie speaks with a confidence that makes his journey into the blossoming world of craft spirits seem relatively simple, although in truth establishing Four Pillars as a boutique distillery took a lot of work and years of preparation for the three business partners - There were road trips to the USA to visit a number of small American producers and most importantly, the commissioning of a bespoke CARL still from Germany, bearing the moniker of Mackenzie's mother Wilma. “Our golden rule from day one was that if we’re going to do it, we were doing it properly. For us it was all or nothing.” He states emphatically, grinning from ear to ear.

From the Dutch introducing the spirit to England during the 1600s, through to the bathtub gin produced during America’s prohibition era, James Bond’s requests for his to be “shaken, not stirred” and Snoop Dogg’s 1993 release ‘Gin and Juice’, you’d be hard pressed to find a liquor with a past as colourful as the juniper based spirit – and although it was once relegated as the tipple of choice for the grey rinse set, the popularity of gin is once again on the rise here in Australia.

In fact, over the past five years, our gin consumption has risen nearly 50% across most age groups with the highest growth is seen in those aged between 18-24. And with the number of boutique distilleries in Australia on the rise, consumers are quickly becoming spoilt for choice and quality. 

One of the key points that help set Four Pillars apart from the rest of the local boutique gin pack is Mackenzie’s passion for experimenting with an unusual blend of ingredients; including a rare mix of Australian botanicals. On their mission to invent the perfect Australian gin, he and his partners consulted some of the countries best-known chefs; asking them what they thought made up modern Australian cuisine. They quickly came to the conclusion that their gin  should include a blend of Asian, Mediterranean and native ingredients. The end result is a fresh and tangy spirit with a dry citrus finish. Perfect with Tonic, or in Mackenzie’s favourite cocktail; the Negroni.

Each limited edition batch produced on the site of the former Hardies Yarra Burn winery is a considered mix of European Juniper, Guatemalan Cardamom, Australian Coriander, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Tasmanian native pepper, Lemon Myrtle, lavender and locally sourced organic oranges.

Mackenzie: “We’ve got some of the most unusual and beautiful botanicals in the world and I don’t think it’ll be long before we see distilleries overseas using Australian ingredients.”

And while both local and international distilleries may soon start taking a leaf out of the Four Pillars book and start distilling with a variety of Aussie ingredients, the one thing they’d be hard pressed to match is the passion and love that goes into each one of Mackenzie’s bottles. “Love is our fourth pillar” he says with a smile, and it’s evident that he means every word.

Four Pillars open day Saturday, 6 September: Bookings through Eventbrite