Former spirit industry professional Eddie Brook and the award-winning Scottish distiller Jim McEwan have left the city life for the sleepy retreat of Byron Bay to set up their own distillery and create a premium spirit that promotes sustainability for the local rainforest.



Many in the industry will recognise Brook from his days at SouthTrade and McEwan as one of the world’s best distillers. The two formed their friendship during an Australian whisky tour a couple of years ago, sharing stories with one another, including that of how Brook grew up helping to regenerate the local rainforest on his family’s macadamia farm.

Combining their passion for spirits, the concept behind Cape Byron Distillery was planted – a distillery that would capture the flavours of sub-tropical New South Wales to create a product that was part of a longer-term journey to help rejuvenate the local rainforest.

The distillery’s first product, Brookie’s Byron Dry Gin, can already be purchased on the Australian crowd-funding platform Pozible, with a portion of the profits going to the Big Scrub Landcare group, which protects the local rainforest and encourages new plantings.

Brookie’s is a traditional, dry style of gin, expressive of traditional and local native botanicals, which have been trickle distilled in a custom hand-made copper pot still.

McEwan said, “We’re bringing a new level of excellence to distillation. When you taste this gin, it tastes pure. You’re tasting a bit of nature, you can taste the salt air, you can taste the fruits and flowers of the rainforest, it has the warmth of the personalities associated with family distillers.”



Over the past 30 years, the Brook family has planted more than 35,000 native trees. Help them in their movement and purchase a bottle of Brookie’s Gin for Christmas. www.pozible.com/project/brookies-byron-dry-gin