General News
10 November, 2022
Lemon a winning flavour for Glenpatrick distillery
Tucked away in the Pyrenees Ranges, the tiny town of Glenpatrick is now home to an award winning liqueur. A local and independent distillery located at the Wimmera Hills Winery — Mrs Baker’s Still House, recently won a gold medal for their...
Tucked away in the Pyrenees Ranges, the tiny town of Glenpatrick is now home to an award winning liqueur.
A local and independent distillery located at the Wimmera Hills Winery — Mrs Baker’s Still House, recently won a gold medal for their Limoncello, a lemon liqueur, at the 2022 Melbourne International Spirits Competition.
The acclaimed contest judged over 200 spirits from more than 10 countries across multiple categories.
Securing a medal at a competition happening on a world stage amounts to global recognition for Mrs Baker’s Still House owner Jane Baker.
“It’s an international grading so that’s pretty exciting,” she said.
“What we’re most excited about is that [the drink] is made using locally grown lemons, it is bottled locally, by employing local staff. So it's all very much of this region.”
Lemons for the Limoncello are sourced from a lemon tree planted on Ms Baker’s son-in-law’s family farm just south of Beaufort.
“We love gathering local botanicals for the distillery, and because these lemons have a family connection, it makes it so much more special to win a gold medal,” Ms Baker said.
“We pick the lemons, and zest them, and then put the zest in the high strength alcohol to release the wonderful limonene oils.”
Trained as a botanist, Ms Baker now operates the distillery and uses her knowledge to her advantage.
She says the lemon tree is protected from harsh south-west winds, so the lemons get to ripen but remain very luscious and tender.
“When cellar door customers taste our Limoncello, their eyes light-up, and they say it tastes like real lemons. Which always makes me laugh — that is because we make it with real fresh lemons, not synthetic flavours,” she said.
“You can taste the fresh flavours coming through with what we make. Some people use dried and old botanicals and they don’t release the flavours quite as beautifully.”
Apart from its ingredients, the distillery also operates sustainably, using solar electricity to power all its activities.
They also follow a no waste policy for their products. After the lemons are zested to make Limoncello, they are then juiced to make lemon cordial.
“It is great to have a non-alcoholic drink in our product range — and its so important to use the whole of the lemon,” Ms Baker said.
With all of these factors in the backdrop, Ms Baker said winning the medal gives the business additional validation.
“It will give us greater visitation and people are now more aware of us. The award signals that we’re doing stuff that is high quality, and it's worth trying out,” she said.
“Location wise, we’re not easy to find but well worth finding once you get here.”