My guest on this episode is Sean Baxter. Sean began his working life as a bartender up in Brisbane, before moving to Melbourne and eventually getting into the brand side of things as a brand ambassador. 

It’s that experience which stood him in good stead when he and business partners Tim Boast and George Georgiadis began Never Never Distilling Co in 2016. Since they first released their gin in 2017, they’ve won numerous accolades, and become something of a bartender favourite. Their gin is all about the juniper, and they went out with the aim of making a London dry style gin that’s all their own — but also one that beats the big premium gin brands of London.

So in this chat Sean and I talk about what it took get that brand up and running, how they began in rather humble surrounds — as Sean says, they were a small distillery on the wall of someone else’s property with no running water — and hear his advice on how one might go about starting a brand today and get an idea of what they might cost. 

I know a lot of bartenders who would love to launch a brand of their own, and there’s a lot here for you if that’s you, whether that’s a spirits brand or another business venture.