"Spicy citrus with a touch of savoury cumin and dried apricot. Fresh ripe apricot with warm alpine and a midlength black pepper dry finish" International Wine & Spirit Competition 2015

"Wairarapa-made and offering plenty of verve, freshness and flavour intrigue" John Saker, Top 10 Gins, Oct 2016

Lighthouse Gin is smooth and fresh with herbal and citrus characteristics. Inspired by the spectacular Cape Palliser lighthouse on the Southernmost tip of the North Island of New Zealand, Lighthouse is comprised of a unique blend of botanicals, including leaves from the native Kawakawa plant. Lighthouse handcrafts their gin with water that travels from high in the Rimutaka Ranges, filtering down to a spring beside the breathtaking Wharekauhau Country Estate in Palliser Bay.

The Cape Palliser Lighthouse was imported from Birmingham in the late 1890s and erected in sections, one on top of the other, hauled up by cast-iron pulleys to the top of a seemingly inaccessible cliff where the aquamarine-blue ocean stretches all the way to Antarctica. On a clear day, you can occasionally glimpse the Kaikoura Mountains of the South Island.

Established in 2005, Lighthouse Gin is, first and foremost, a New Zealand gin. Founder and Master Distiller, Neil Catherall, spent several years researching and experimenting with a variety of native botanicals and ultimately selected a unique blend of New Zealand Kawakawa, along with the fresh zest of New Zealand-grown Navel oranges and Yen Ben lemons, the intensely flavored descendant of the famous Lisbon lemon.

Today, under the direction of Distiller Rachel Hall, Lighthouse Gin undergoes double distillation in our custom made 200-liter copper still, which was specially built by local craftsmen. The double distillation process is time-consuming, but results in a softer, more refined and more approachable spirit, with each batch having its own subtle signature.