About great ocean road gin
Family Business
The natural environment and rugged beauty of the Great Ocean Road are the inspiration behind the coastal gins created by the owners of Great Ocean Road Gin. The gin and its playful brand are a nostalgic nod to its makers’ favourite place in the world and their love of premium gin!
The Great Ocean Road has been part of Great Ocean Road Gin Founder Ann Houlihan’s history for over 50 years. Her parents built a holiday house at Moggs Creek in 1970 not far from the famed Ocean Road sign. The house burnt down in the Ash Wednesday bush fires but was rebuilt.
How it started
In November 2017 Ann & her partner Kris Mckie moved their family to Anglesea for a sea change and for Ann to begin making her small batch craft gin that features botanicals from the region. Excited by the thriving food scene in Geelong and the Surf coast region the pair were keen to be a part of the growing food community on the coast. Their focus was to use local ingredients and botanicals to create gin that was reflective of the coastline & initially work with a local indigenous nursery to identify the unique plants growing in the region.
The first gin, a modern dry gin called Guvvos (pronounced Gov-ohs) was released in 2018. It features 24 botanicals, nine of them from the region including kelp, salt bush, eucalyptus, hop wattle & a local honey to name a few. The gin itself is named after the surf beach located outside Point Roadknight where the kelp is foraged. Great Ocean Road Gin now have seven gins in their range.
WHERE WE ARE
In December 2022 the doors to their Torquay based distillery in Sawmills Way were opened. Their gins are made on a 300L Australian copper pot still sourced from Tasmania. The distillery in addition to production houses a retail store and a cellar door bar that is opened Friday and Saturdays for gin and tonics, tasting trays and cocktails.
Ann & Kris are excited about creating unique dining destinations serving quality food and drink on the Ocean Road. In addition to the new distillery in Torquay they have a Tasting Room & Gin Garden & a restaurant called The Gin Kitchen in Aireys Inlet serving gin cocktails, local wines & beers and authentic South East Asian shared plates.