The 1922 German Expressionist horror film Nosferatu is heralded by many film buffs as an influential work in the era of silent cinema. While its gothic-style aesthetic influenced numerous subsequent entries into the vampire film genre, the benchmark flick would also go on to have a profound impact on Australia’s gin scene almost a century after its release. Nosferatu Distillery emerged in 2018 with its Blood Orange Gin – a red-hued spirit bottled and branded with a striking (and eventually award-winning) label that depicted the gaunt silhouette of actor Max Schreck’s Count Orlok. It was a hit – the combination of Albanian juniper berries, blood orange peel, fresh navel oranges, roasted fenugreek and wormwood (among numerous other botanicals) created a sip that was fruit-forward with a bitter tail, ideal for elevating a negroni from ordinary to outstanding. When Nosferatu’s Rory Smith (who in a previous life worked in film) started the business in Melbourne, he wanted to make a gin that would pair perfectly with Campari and Pimm’s. Safe to say he nailed the attempt – four years on and Nosferatu has found a cult following amongst Australian drinkers, going on to build up a killer portfolio of film- and folklore-inspired spirits and, as of a month ago, establish a bricks-and-mortar headquarters of its own in the back streets of Bowen Hills.

The footprint of this spacious warehouse has been thoughtfully divvied up to house not only the team’s distillery set-up (anchored by a German-style 350-litre copper column still called The Schreck in honour of Nosferatu‘s leading man), bottling facilities and distribution centre, but also a bar and cafe. After adding insulation in for cooling, black awnings on the western wall to keep heat off the glass, Rory and his team set about making the space inviting for the general public. Hanging garden beds, fairy lights, upcycled furnishings and a feature wall coated in vintage A-frame ladders soften the space, while the bar itself (housed in a converted Spitfire vintage caravan) is an attention-grabbing centrepiece. That said, the purposeful juxtaposition of cellar door and distillery creates an engaging setting for guests to sit and watch the distillation process in action just a few meters away. “I think it’s part of the charm,” says cellar door manager Tess Hill of Nosferatu’s distiller-first character. “It’s showing we are functioning distillery, this is what we do. It has a bit of a grungy rawness to it, which feels different.”

The sense of difference extends to Nosferatu’s gin range, which walks the line between unconventional innovation and traditional taste making. “The funny thing about us, despite our packaging, I would say we’re easily one of the most traditional producers in Australia,” admits Rory, who also operates fine liquor import and distribution business Bouchon Wine & Spirits. “We don’t use any Australian botanicals, no lemon myrtle or finger limes, but that’s the tightrope that we have to walk all the time.” A traditional British-inspired distilling methodology informs much of Rory and lead distiller Ashley Mellor’s process, with Rory’s fascination with cinema and monsters adding a sense of character to each drop. “What I say to people is, that we reverse engineered all our gins,” says Rory. “In other words, we had a clear idea of what we wanted to make and worked back from that.” The range starts with the aforementioned Blood Orange Gin and moves on to include the Mandrake Cucumber & Mint Gin (a Hendricks-style sip inspired by the sinister mandrake root), the Giselle Pavlova Gin (a gin laced with vanilla, burnt sugar and double-cream essence inspired by Anna Pavlova, who famously danced the ghost-filled ballet Giselle) and the Bunyip Sticky Gin (an aromatic option influenced by the fermented white wine mistelle, blended back with unfermented pinot gris grape juice from Mornington Peninsula). Recent additions to the range include a straightforward Dead Dry Gin and Vodka, which filters botanicals like coriander, cardamom, juniper, oranges and cascara through sugar cane charcoal and pumicestone. All of Nosferatu’s spirits can be tried at the cellar door or purchased individually or as part of a Ginner Pack for take-home consumption. Nosferatu opens early for coffee from Adore Coffee Roasters and breakfast bites like bacon-and-egg muffins, toasties, baguettes, wraps, muffins and slices. Later in the day, locals can pop in for a cocktail or a tasting flight of Nosferatu spirits, craft-beer tins and wines. Moving forward, the team is eager to improve its carbon footprint with the introduction of wash and recycle glass demijohns, while plans are in the works to introduce an aged whisky, an agave spirit and a rum to the Nosferatu range.

Nosferatu Distillery is now open to the public and is available for function here. Check out the Stumble Guide for more info.