A Day in the Life of a Distiller

Here is a strange kind of satisfying – the clink of glass, the rattle of ice, and the aroma that teases the taste buds towards an experience about to unfold. Yet most of us never give a second thought to the centuries of craft, science, and a smidgeon of mischief that go into making it. Distilling alcohol is an ancient art, dating back to alchemists chasing the ‘water of life’, and today it’s as much about passion as it is precision. Somewhere between medieval potions and modern mixology, we’ve come to take for granted that a beautiful bottle just appears on the shelf.

But behind every sip is a distiller with a story, a curiosity that drives innovation, a still, and possibly a quirky nickname for their favourite copper coil. Stills get their name from the word distillation – the process of boiling and cooling a liquid to purify it. While stills are most often used to create alcohol, they can also be used with any liquid, including medicines and perfumes. In this edition of A Day in the Life, we visit The National Distillery Company in Ahuriri, aptly named as it resides in the once bustling National Tobacco building. Inside, we find a picturesque and internationally recognised, award-winning distillery that produces gin, rum, vodka, brandy, liqueurs and whisky. Behind the copper and stainless spaghetti, we meet and talk to Head Distiller Sean Hughes.

Head Distiller Sean Hughes standing outside the infamous National tobacco Building

How many years have you been a distiller?

I’ve been a distiller for four years now. I originally started working here part-time, wanting to branch out from hospitality, which had been most of my working life. I began at the bottom – cleaning, bottling, and doing more cleaning – and I knew nothing about how to run the distilling units. There was no official distilling training available at the time, so it was all on-the-job learning as I went. These days, there is online training, and actually, New Zealand has earned a reputation for pioneering innovation in distilling circles.

A range of award winning gins

Why this profession?

I became interested in distilling through my dad, and I started experimenting with small batches at home. Some of it was actually drinkable! What really drew me in was the creative freedom – there are so many opportunities to play with different flavours, and there are no real barriers. If something doesn’t quite work out flavour-wise, you can rework it into something else and try again. That part of the process is very forgiving, and I enjoy that.

What’s the biggest change in your profession over the past 10 years?

There’s been constant change in this industry, as well as change simply from doing business in Hawke’s Bay. One of the biggest shifts has been the swing in consumer preference towards gin and the growing demand for variety. There are now so many different flavours of gin on the market, and more are still coming. We’ve introduced seasonal flavours, private-label gins, collaborations, and tasting sessions focused entirely on gin.

Locally, several major events have also driven change. Covid had a dramatic impact – we pivoted to using our equipment to produce sanitisers, which kept us extremely busy. Then the cyclone brought new challenges. In response, we printed T-shirts to raise funds for the affected areas. Through a collaboration between my business, the Thieving Acorn, and the Gin Distillery, we raised over $75,000 with shirts featuring images connected to the five most damaged regions. In between these events, we’ve continued to innovate with flavours and techniques, constantly sourcing new equipment to make our processes more efficient and to keep up with the growing demand.

What has been the most memorable experience for you?

Without a doubt, our awards have been the most memorable moments. In 2023, we won the Best Rum Award in New Zealand with our Port O Ahuriri Rum – and the crazy part is, we had never made a rum before. We decided to give it a go, brought in a consultant, and began fermenting molasses and sugar cane, not really knowing where it would lead. We started the process in 2021, so it was just two years of experimenting before we took home the award. Then last year, we won another rum award, this time for our 1642 Golden Rum.

What part of your work do you enjoy the most?

I really enjoy problem solving – tracing issues back to their root cause and then working out the best solution. Distilling has so many moving parts, and everything has to come together perfectly, at the right time. I also love experimenting with new flavours each week and, of course, sampling those new ideas.

Describe a typical day.

My day starts at 7.30 a.m. with firing up the boiler to create the steam we need for the still. While that’s heating up, I catch up on a bit of admin – emails, coffee, and planning. Then I oversee our small team as they come in for bottling, labelling, and general distillery work. In the afternoons, we handle most of our despatching for wholesale and online orders to make sure everything gets out in time for the courier. We also keep our cellar door stocked and ready for visitors. Towards the end of the day, I plan for the next day's work, schedule bottling runs, and focus on R&D for new products or flavours. On Fridays and Saturdays, and whenever cruise ships are in port, we also run tastings and info sessions for visiting groups.

What advice would you give an enthusiast who wants to do what you do?

Learn to embrace failure! There's a lot of experimental work involved in distilling, so it's important to get comfortable with things not going to plan. The key is to analyse what went wrong, record all your observations, and use that information to adjust and improve. Practise on small still set-ups, try different methods and flavours, and most importantly – be creative.

What do you find is the most challenging aspect of your job?Time – definitely. It’s challenging for two main reasons. First, the distilling process often requires split shifts, and timing is everything. You have to be present at specific stages, whether that’s during the day or in the middle of the night. Second, balancing time between routine, menial tasks and allowing space for creativity and developing new concepts can be difficult. On top of that, keeping track of all the moving parts is a constant challenge – every single step in the distilling process is vitally important.

Funniest experience you’ve seen or been part of in your career?

When we first started experimenting with fermenting molasses, we accidentally let one batch become way too active in the fermenter during the initial phase. I had to climb up and open the top hatch to release the pressure. The pressure was so intense that it blew the hatch open and blasted me — and everything around me — in sticky, dark molasses. It was a massive clean-up job, and definitely a memorable (and very messy) lesson learned!

What do you think the future changes will be in your profession in the next 10 years?

As we grow, things will get a bit easier because higher volumes will allow us to invest in more efficient machinery to streamline our processes. There’s a strong appetite in the market for more interesting and unique flavours—people want to individualise their tastes rather than just picking any gin off the shelf, much like wine consumers do. I believe we’ll develop a distinct Kiwi style of spirits, much like Scotch whisky is to Scotland, that will gain international recognition. More distilleries will emerge, which will raise the bar for quality in competitions and awards. We’ll see clever distillers crafting complex, innovative products, which will be fantastic for building New Zealand’s reputation on the global stage.

So, to all the spirit drinkers out there, the future looks bright and exciting. Every time you pick up a bottle of your favourite spirit, take a moment to think about the many failures that came before it, and raise a toast to the creative, passionate distillers who make it all happen for our enjoyment.

Find The National Gin Distillery at

https://nationaldistillery.nz