Our Story
Alarna Doherty, Tara Founder, had a lightbulb moment that would completely change the direction of their lives. She decided she wanted to craft her own spirits and start a distillery, with a particular focus on Single Pot Still Whiskey and Gin. The rest, as they say is history!
Tara Distillery was the first new craft distillery to be built in the Shoalhaven for over 140 years. Alarna set out to resurrect the grass roots tradition of distilling in the Shoalhaven. Tara Distillery represents the revival of copper pot distillation and those traditions, with Single Pot Still Whiskey, Poitín and Gin distillation commencing in June 2020.
Tara Distillery is a family business run by Alarna Doherty and Ben Stephenson, and their two children Eamonn and Aela.
Alarna Doherty, Tara Founder, had a lightbulb moment that would completely change the direction of their lives. She decided she wanted to craft her own spirits and start a distillery, with a particular focus on Single Pot Still Whiskey and Gin. The rest, as they say is history!
Tara Distillery was the first new craft distillery to be built in the Shoalhaven for over 140 years. Alarna set out to resurrect the grass roots tradition of distilling in the Shoalhaven. Tara Distillery represents the revival of copper pot distillation and those traditions, with Single Pot Still Whiskey, Poitín and Gin distillation commencing in June 2020.
Tara Distillery is a family business run by Alarna Doherty and Ben Stephenson, and their two children Eamonn and Aela.
Sustainability
Agriculture
For us, sustainability is at the core of everything we do. We focus on supporting local agriculture by focusing on local Australian ingredients, grains, and botanicals.
Water
Living in the harsh Australian climate, minimising water usage is crucial - our distillery is run completely on harvested rainwater, our boiler, condensers, running water, and cutting down water is all local natural soft rainwater.
Spent Grain
After we mash in, our spent grain stays local and feeds local cattle farmers.
Waste
All left over grain, botanicals, fruits are either given as feed to cattle, pigs, or sheep or composted to regenerate our soil at Tara Distillery.