By Leigh O’Connor.
The natural beauty and easy-going attitude of the Gold Coast are the inspiration behind Clovendoe Distilling Co. on Ern Harley Drive in Burleigh Heads.
Using nature's finest ingredients to curate a refined spirit, this female-led distillery produces zero and local-alcohol botanically infused drops, along with their Zero range of guilt-free, non-alcoholic spirits.
The brainchild of Catie Fry, who entered the world of distilling back in 2016 co-founding a rum and gin distillery in Central Queensland, Clovendoe was born from a desire to flip the narrative on the typical Aussie distilling company.
"I wanted to encourage and celebrate women being at the helm of what has been a traditionally male-led space,” she tells AGFG. "I also wanted to prove that to be involved in the distilling industry didn’t mean you had to be part of the ‘booze’ culture, but could play a role in whetting the appetite for a positive movement away from it.”
Catie says being a woman at the forefront of the distilling industry means she has challenged her own unconscious gender bias and conditioning.
"I rolled up my sleeves and stood for something I wanted. My husband is a distiller and so am I – we operate separate distilleries and don’t interfere with each other’s craft, so when my two young boys talk about growing up and perhaps becoming distillers themselves, it’s pretty cool to hear them trying to figure out who’s distillery they would want to work at.”
When it comes to her non-alcoholic spirit range – Clovendoe Zero – Catie says the distillery is quite rare in the way they are made, traditionally crafting the spirits in copper pot stills; try this delicious cocktail recipe for a Stem Zero Faux Margarita and discover it for yourself.
"All our products are 100% distilled with nothing else added or taken away and no attempt to directly ‘mimic’. Most of the well-known non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ products on the market are bulk produced in flavour houses, so essentially they are cordial concoctions of extracts, flavours, colourings, sugars, sweeteners and additives.
"Having had some insight into the production costs of these concoctions, it makes me frustrated to see the price tag on them and the lack of transparency for customers.”
Catie says her main goal when establishing the NoLo focus was to drive a mindful yet judgment-free distilling company that had a social conscience and a conscience around production quality.
"We wanted to offer more sophisticated, healthy and inclusive options to the typical alcohol-laden drinks readily available. We wanted to turn FOMO around and make social and ritual experiences easier for anyone struggling with abstaining from alcohol.”
Catie says one of her biggest hurdles has been accessing finance to grow bigger and better.
‘I feel like I’m constantly coming up against the chicken or the egg scenario. I have been scrappy and creative in getting to where I am at this stage of the business. We started Clovendoe with practically nothing; I can tell you having money to start and work with would have made things a lot less challenging.
"That whole saying about it takes money to make money – yep, I get it, loud and clear.”
One of the features of Clovendoe’s spirits is the bottle label, depicting a ‘wild, yet classy, earthy woman’ designed by Catie’s artist friend Nellie Lovegrove.
"She is the imperfect perfection of a woman – Nellie sat patiently with me for hours and hours to bring her to fruition. I had her essence I wanted out and on the bottle – Nellie did a splendid job bringing her to form.”
What does the next five years hold for Clovendoe?
"Hopefully no nervous breakdowns, some cool opportunities, new products and maybe even a fairy godmother to wave her wand and bring me cash to buy bigger and more efficient distilling equipment and hire more awesome women to work their magic in the company.”
Watch out for your garden plants when Catie is in your area…she confesses to being a bit of an urban garden thief.
"I walk past people’s gardens and through parks and get super inspired and excited by plants, flowers, random roots and fruits to distil on my little experimental still.
"I can’t control myself, the next minute I’m poking a hand through a garden fence to nab part of a bush, or I’ve convinced my kids to quietly climb a tree and throw me down the delicious flowers without the neighbour noticing.”
In her forties and married with kids, Catie says being a garden thief is ‘pretty edgy’ for her…but if it leads to new flavoured gins, we are all on board!
