Bremer Valley agave distillery goes into limited production

Callington’s Newell family have launched the first run of a new type of spirit in the Murraylands.

Distillers have made an alcoholic drink from the heart of the agave plant for centuries; now Callington's Newell family is having a go. Photo: Bremer Valley Agave.

A Callington distillery is about to release the first batch of a home-grown spirit made from plants on a local family’s property.

Where some saw weeds which had grown in the area since the 1850s, Geoff and Nathan Newell saw an opportunity.

Now, 15 months after they first tried distilling a Mexican-style spirit from those agave americana plants, they’re ready to go into limited production.

They can’t call the drink tequila or mezcal, as those names are restricted to particular variants which come from particular parts of Mexico.

The label on the bottle will simply say “Bremer Valley agave”.

Fewer than 80 bottles will be produced in each of the first two batches.

Nathan Newell said he and his father had gained great respect for the history and traditions behind the production process.

The agave plant is stripped of its leaves and its heart slow-roasted in a wood-fired pit, then crushed, fermented and refined in a copper still.

But the younger Mr Newell hoped influences like the Australian hardwood they used for their fires would give their spirit a uniquely local flavour.

“We’re not trying to be Mexico and recreate what has already been done,” he said.

“We’re exploring what happens when that knowledge and tradition meets an Australian landscape, using the plants, materials and conditions of the place we call home.”

The production process involves roasting the heart of the agave plant. Photo: Bremer Valley Agave.

In time, he hoped the distillery could open a physical shop front at Callington that could become an attraction to visitors with an interest in their boutique industry.

“This is the beginning of something much bigger,” he said.

“We see an opportunity to create something that celebrates the traditions, the land, its mining and agricultural heritage and the pioneering history of the Bremer Valley.”

Bottles will be available directly from the producers.

The locally produced spirit will be released in a limited batch. Photo: Bremer Valley Agave.

Boutique beverage production grows in popularity

Bremer Valley’s boutique distillery will be the third to enter operation in the Murraylands in recent years.

Two others were established in 2020: the Roylancer Distillery Co, which produces vodka and whiskey at Mannum, and Twin Bridges Distillery, a gin and liqueur producer in Murray Bridge.

Agave distilleries are rarer, however.

Hahndorf producers Hidden Trove Distilling claimed to have produced SA’s first agave spirit when they released a small batch to a handful of Adelaide bars in February.

Several other producers, including Luna Brewing and Distilling in the Barossa, were still in the process of growing a crop at the time of publication.