48 DRINKtech NEW ZEALAND SEPTEMBER 2017 The handiwork of Jo and Dave James – who describe themselves as an “unassuming” couple who met at primary school – Juno Gin has now hit the market just two years after the James’ left their respective careers and combined their science backgrounds and passion for gin to start dreaming and experimenting to craft their ideal tipple. “I love gin,” Jo – who worked in the public health sector, including as executive director of a drug and alcohol counselling service consortium in Australia - says. “It’s been a favourite drink of mine since I was a teenager and I’ve always UNDER THE MOUNTAIN Many unique things can be found under Mt Taranaki…but up until now, it’s tended to be (or related to) milk, oil, gas or great surf breaks. Now the region – recently voted the world’s second-best place to visit by Lonely Planet - can add gin to its list of achievements, thanks to the newly released London-style Juno Gin by a locallybred husband-and-wife team. DRINKtech NEW ZEALAND loved to cook. So what we’re doing with Juno is like a recipe for happiness—we’re able to play with flavour and create a product that I genuinely love.” Flavour profiling and distilling technique experimentation began on their kitchen bench using a two-litre copper still, which they affectionately christened ‘Willy’. As they refined the Juno recipe, a 10-litre still called ‘Jenny’ took their labour of love to the next level and eventually, Dave put his engineering background to work by designing from scratch a 400-litre still called ‘Lila’, built collaboratively with the Taranaki engineering firm Rivet. Today ‘Lila’ can produce a breathtaking 450 700ml bottles of gin per day and, with word spreading about this Taranaki gem of gins, the James say it won’t be long before the still is working at full capacity as well. That demand was given a boost at the recent Auckland Food Show with attendees (including celebrity chefs) admiring Juno’s uniquely citrus, floral and aromatic notes—flavours that the James explain are distinctly Kiwi. The company sources almost all of its botanicals (the plants used to flavour the alcohol) locally. “Our Orris Root comes from Hawke’s Bay,” Dave says, “cori
FT-sep17-eMag1
To see the actual publication please follow the link above