Burdekin Distillery

Burdekin Distillery produces what the French call 'agricultural' style rum and unaged cane spirits from fresh-pressed local sugarcane juice (as opposed to using molasses, as most distilleries do), and is the first of its kind in Queensland’s far northern cane-growing region. Distiller Jason Chan first started making craft spirits for West Winds Gin over 15 years ago, and now brings his passion for rum to bear on this unique project that aims to shine a light on the terroir of the Burdekin region. While Burdekin also produced some molasses-based rums, that part of its range is still a work in progress, and it’s the fresh cane stuff that’s really its signature so far, with all the funky, grassy vibrancy you’d expect from this style of rum. And while there’s no visitor experience as of yet - opting to put the distillery in the middle of cane country rather than easily accessible to visitors - Burdekin does have the advantage of outstanding, highly alkaline water sourced from on-site bores, so good they bottle it under the brand QUO. With only a few years under its belt so far (founded 2020), Burdekin is already producing some outstanding cane spirits, so we’re very excited to see what the future holds for this visionary producer. -FRED SIGGINS